Harbor and Home released “FIghter” at the Fine Line

Saturday night in the midst of what I would call Minnesota Weather Dementia, as it rained for an entire day and the temperature dropped yet again, Harbor and Home released their fan funded album, FIghter. Opening for H&H were local acts Afton, John Chuck and The Class, and Luna Luna. Needless to say the local pride was strong and to see the collection of musicians last night out for the album release was awesome.

First up, to warm the crowd up as lead man Lars put it, was Afton. A band that until now I had never heard of, and I wondered as I often do with openers, how’s this going to go?. What I can say at this point is Afton is a legit up and comer if their set was any indicator of things to come in their soon releasing album. When Lars stated they had done all of 3 shows before this night, EVER, I chuckled. Really? 3 no friggen way. Afton has an impressive amount of stage presence and despite the crowd slowly trickling in still through their set they got everyone on board with their pop jams. I will honestly admit when I got home I was frustrated to find there is nothing on YouTube or Spotify(yet) from these guys but a sneak peak. I want more, Afton.

On deck was John Chuck and The Class. At first glance if you were able to tell me you knew what sort of music this duo plays I would call you a liar. The guys hopped on stage and after a trademark message delivered by JC via marker written messages on paper, complete with smiley face, things got rolling. Turns out, JC and The Class are a hip hop duo and I found myself head bobbing with the crowd around me as the guys jumped around on stage. You won’t find much on Spotify or YouTube from them yet but what’s there as of now is catchy and easy to get into.

Last up from the openers came Luna Luna. Another local who I had not heard of before tonight and if you try to find her on social media you’ll come up short handed though she is growing a following on Instagram, @lunalunamusic. Luna’s sound was a perfect transition from JC and The Classes crowd cannonballs and high energy. I always enjoy seeing an artist who is genuinely happy to be doing what they are and Luna is no exception. It wasn’t a long set but the sound was promising and I anticipate she’ll be popping up around the Twin Cities a bit soon.

Finally arrived the moment many in the crowd were waiting for, Harbor and Home. What I still find amusing about H&H is that when I got the opportunity to cover their album release I did my usual and went about listening to all of their music to get a vibe. I was cut short though when I realized I had in fact had them on my playlists for months. Sun Rays and Wander have been a couple of my favorite songs and I had never made the connection until the last week. For those of you unfamiliar to their music I would describe them as a low key Mumford and Sons. Songs like Summer Lover and Won’t Let Go are a couple songs I think will prove to be crowd favorites.

Though the set for H&H was focused on sharing tracks from their new album the guys threw in some popular songs from the last couple years, of course including Wander. I don’t want to get hung up on this one but it’s hard not to when you’re in a crowd who seems to feel the same about a song. I actually had to stop taking photos, pull my ear plugs, and realize the crowd was quietly singing along for this one. It’s one of those moments that you have to stop and soak in. The words to Wander aren’t complicated, there is no sophisticated metaphors, no meta like symbolism in the lyrics. It is a simple and relatable chorus line, how long must I wander this barren land? And something we all can relate to at many points in our lives.

From their new album continuing on that same theme is the song Not Today. This one didn’t make it into the setlist but shows that H&H is staying true to their reflective and live in the moment style. It’s cliché, and not everyone is a fan of rain, but it felt fitting that as the rain kept coming the music continued with the songs Follow Your Heart and soon after, another crowd favorite called Summer Lover. I’m still piecing the entire album of Fighter together emotionally but the journey for me at this point has been one of never stop chasing the dream and to take nothing for granted. A message very fitting of an album that fans contributed to making possible and maybe in a way a thank you to them as a result.

As always, I like to give people songs to check out to get an idea of what an artist is about. These aren’t all from FIghter, nor all from the show at Fine Line but H&H has clearly gathered momentum so people should give them a look. Current favorites and suggestions include: Wander, Sun Rays, Not Today, Minnesota(DUH), Darling, and I Want More. You can find their music on Spotify and YouTube with the recently released video for Wander plus behind the scenes.

Setlist: Devil’s Got No Hold/Storms Won’t Find Me/Won’t Let Go/Minnesota/When I’m COming Home/I Want More/Wander/Fighter/Cruel/Sweet Home Alabama(Cover)/Gone/Darlin/Cold Side/ Some Kind of Lonely/Follow Your Heart/The Only One/Summer Lover/Carry Me Home