Monday 11/18
Briston Maroney at the Entry – TICKETS
After a childhood and adolescence spent adrift – shuttling through the haze of split households in Tennessee and Florida – 21-year-old Briston Maroney’s life finally comes into focus with the four songs on Indiana. Settling in Nashville, Maroney has developed a style steeped in the sweat and scrappy sounds of the city’s DIY house parties, winning over fans one living room at a time.
Indiana follows the release of 2018’s Carnival EP, Maroney’s take on the modern coming-of-age story and his debut for Canvasback Music/Atlantic. Those songs have amassed millions of streams and opened the door to tours with Liz Cooper and Wallows. Recorded at Thunder Sound studios in rural Kentucky, Indiana meditates on the disparities between juvenile dreams and adult realities.
Consequence of Sound praises his music as “vulnerable and empathetic, but balanced out with just the right amount of conviction,” while Austin’s KUTX says that he “sings with such contemplation, confidence, and ease that it’s almost surprising to find he’s only 21 years old.” Briston Maroney will play Austin City Limits Festival this fall with more touring planned for later in the year.
Michigander – opening for Pete Yorn at the Varsity Theater – TICKETS
Singer and his band are no strangers to the road, having built up a loyal fanbase over the years. Between the headlining shows. Michigander was born out of restless feet and the need to say something. After releasing his debut single, “Nineties,” in 2016, and followed by 2018’s debut EP, Midland, Michigander solidified its place as an exciting new artist and gained critical attention. NPR remarked that “Singer has the most astounding knack for writing anthemic pop songs. Wise beyond his years with an angelic confidence in his voice, he’s adept at crafting those musical moments that ring with high emotional impact.”
Tuesday 11/19
Son Little at the Cedar Cultural Center – TICKETS
Son Little, the singer and songwriter born Aaron Livingston, is the easygoing musical alchemist of our time. He is a conjurer, and much like those of his heroes Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix, his songs are deconstructions of the diaspora of American R&B. Deftly he weaves different eras of the sound—blues, soul, gospel, rock and roll—through his own unique vision, never forced, always smooth, each note a tributary on the flowing river of rhythm and blues. The currents empty into an estuary, and into this well water Son dips his bucket—trusting innately in the magic’s existence. And now, with his second full-length album, New Magic, he has delivered a profound statement, a cohesive creation that captures the diverse spirit of American music in a fresh and modern way.
Wednesday 11/20
Amigo the Devil at the Skyway – TICKETS
If you’ve ever heard a room full of people yelling “I hope your husband dies” in a some harmoniously sloppy, drunken unison, you’ve probably stumbled into an Amigo The Devil show. Danny Kiranos, better known to the masses as his musical counterpart Amigo The Devil, has been challenging the expectations of traditional folk, country music purists, and rock/extreme metal fans alike with his morbid, yet oddly romantic, take on folk that has amassed a dedicated and cult like fan-base. Despite being armed with only his vocals and a banjo/acoustic guitar, the live show is worlds away from what people expect of a folk show. Loaded with sing-alongs and an unsuspecting dose of humor to make otherwise grim topics accessible for fans of every genre, the songs remain deeply rooted in the tradition of story-telling that seems to be slipping away from the human condition.
Thursday 11/21
Mostly Trees Album Release at the Hook & Ladder – TICKETS
Mostly Trees has been collaborating in various forms for more than a decade. The Minneapolis quartet includes members of rock outfits Peddler, Busey, Young and Tender, and Ghost Towns of the West. Their self-titled debut under the Mostly Trees moniker exhibits a sound that will ring familiar to fans of post-grunge and shoegaze genres with bursts of psychedelia afforded in no small part by their judicious use of guitar effects pedals. This was largely spurned by lead guitarist Joel Korte, owner of Chase Bliss Audio, who outfits the band’s pedalboards and has worked with such notable acts as Radiohead, Kings of Leon, Tycho, Wilco, and John Mayer. Singer Jon Po provides vocals that carry an almost tangible emotion, exposing raw nerves and vulnerable lyrics on loss and personal growth.
Saturday 11/23
Strange Ranger at the Turf Club – TICKETS
On their third full-length, Remembering The Rockets Strange Ranger continue to excel at translating the way intimacy can feel so overwhelmingly gigantic. With a dozen releases across their 10 years as a band, the Philly-via-Portland-via-Montana group, currently featuring Isaac Eiger (guitars, vocals), Fred Nixon (bass, piano, vocals), Nathan Tucker (drums), and Fiona Woodman (vocals), have traversed genres, moods, and textures while maintaining one important throughline: an exploration of closeness. “Trying to close the distance between yourself and another person and wondering how much can really be done about that gap,” Eiger says. “Sometimes you don’t want to be close with others but you feel guilty, and sometimes you do but you can’t.”
Their 2016 double-LP Rot Forever (which they released under the name Sioux Falls) was a 72-minute freakout that paired Built To Spill grandiosity with early Modest Mouse intensity. Many of the songs were six-minute treks that pushed guitar/bass/drum indie-rock to its breaking point, but the band was singing about crawling into bed and running back a lifetime’s worth of minor interactions. After putting that into the world, Eiger and Nixon (the primary songwriters) felt they had gotten a rip-roaring rock record out of their systems, so they hung up their distortion pedals and traded caustic yelps for Alex G-esque croons on 2017’s Daymoon (Tiny Engines). It was a synth-adorned, insular bedroom-pop record that floated rather than soared, and they opted for lyrical impressionism over the hyper-specific outbursts of Rot Forever.
Arrival Of Autumn at the Cabooze – TICKETS
Canadian Metal Band ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN has announced that they will be joining IN FLAMES and RED for their 2019 Fall / Winter Tour. Launching November 2nd in Wichita, KS, the tour winds throughout the US and Canada, ending December 20th in Dallas, TX. The group will be touring in support of their new album, Harbinger,
Kentucky Headhunters at The Barn – EVENT INFO
Live At The Ramblin’ Man Fair finds the band blazing through a 10-song set in front of 25,000 screaming UK fans. Combining old-school blues and blistering Southern rock with country overtones, The Kentucky Headhunters cross borders and genres with ease, as the elated UK audience roars its collective approval throughout the concert. Although The Kentucky Headhunters have been recording and touring together for over 30 years (and making music together for over 50 years), they had never, until 2016, performed overseas. That year, Richard—a notoriously uneasy flier—let his son John Fred (drummer for internationally beloved hard rock group Black Stone Cherry) talk him into bringing The Kentucky Headhunters to Europe. A tour of Sweden and the United Kingdom was booked, and the band was on its way to earning a whole new audience for their raucous and rowdy music.
Since their multiple award-winning debut album in 1989, Pickin’ On Nashville (Mercury), the band has released 12 more albums with total sales reaching over 11 million. Constant touring has kept the band busy and each new release has kept them in high demand. 2015’s Alligator CD, Meet Me In Bluesland (recorded in 2003 with Johnnie Johnson), brought the band to the attention of many new fans. No Depression called the album, “A raucous, rockin’ romp that’ll put a big ole grin on your face. Johnson pounds out licks like a wrecking ball.” The Wall Street Journal called it, “a collection of rollicking, loose-limbed songs rooted in the blues and vintage-style rock ‘n’ roll.”
Booker T at the Medina Entertainment Center – TICKETS
Booker is a true blues legend and his story, and status are being widely celebrated this fall: he was just a couch guest on The Tonight Show, the NY Times ran a feature, and the book/album are getting raves. Says Bob Dylan: “Booker T. will forever be known as the Booker T. from Booker T. and the MGs. But this book reveals so much more of the man.”
This new album traces his life story – Booker having recorded some of the tentpole songs that follow his incredible journey: from playing piano with Mahalia Jackson at age 12, to the Stax years, to producing key albums for Willie Nelson and Carlos Santana. He’s joined by Matt Berninger from The National (Booker also produced his new LP that he just announced today), Ty Taylor from Vintage Trouble) and more.
The songs mirror the chapters in the book – from Carla and Rufus’ “Cause I Love You” (this was Booker’s first recording session, he was picked up from algebra class and driven to Stax, where he played the opening bari sax horn line. Then to “Born Under A Bad Sign,” which Booker co-wrote…to “These Arms of Mine” and reflections on Otis. Willie Nelson’s “Stardust” – Booker produced that record. And “Time Is Tight,” an MGs hit that Booker re-recorded in the way that he’s always wanted – with a huge orchestral flurry at the end. It clocks in at 9 minutes.
Sunday 11/24
Iron Kingdom at the Hexagon Bar – EVENT INFO
Inspired by legendary pillars of heavy metal such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, The Scorpions, and Rush, this four-piece is well known for their energetic and electrifying stage presence, as well as intricate musical melodies that bring listeners back to a time when heavy metal was in its prime.
Life on the road continued, including a massive North American tour in 2016, as well as a tour in Brazil in a supporting slot for former front man of Iron Maiden, Blaze Bayley. After many performances, guitarist Kenny and drummer Joey departed, thus leaving the door open for Chris Sonea, and Megan Merrick, on drums and guitar respectively.
With a new lineup and a new album on its way, Iron Kingdom will once again be ready to take the world by storm and aid in the revival of the mighty and classic sounds of Traditional Heavy Metal.
Palmer T. Lee at the Hook & Ladder – TICKETS
Palmer T Lee was born in Minnesota. As a boy, he liked stories, built fantasy worlds, and to stay awake in math class, he wrote poetry. When he showed his poems to his mother, she connected him with a Native Youth newspaper in Minneapolis, which published his work. The youth writers met once a month with mentors from the community, and there he met Winona LaDuke, and was encouraged to participate in his very first poetry reading. At his second (and last) reading, Palmer decided he did not like the form. Soon he picked up his first guitar for $35, complete with a Save the Whales sticker on the back, and he learned that he preferred to give his words shape through music, with the added bonus that he could hide himself behind the guitar as he shared his thoughts.
A close friend introduced him to the music of Neil Young and Bob Dylan, and he was inspired by Jerry Garcia and Dave Grisman to explore classic folk and bluegrass. His family helped out again by supplying him with two banjos, and he immediately switched his focus to writing and playing songs. He describes his passion for the voice of the instrument: “it felt more natural than most other ways to sound one’s blessed and rare living moments.”
