The Strumbellas is a band that’s been around for awhile, and you’ve probably unknowingly heard a few of their songs. When I learned that they were playing at Fine Line, I knew that we had to go. Their album Hope being an all time favorite. Before the show we decided to go to our favorite food hall Graze in North Loop to enj0y the warmer weather that has been gracing Minnesota lately, and to have a little pre-show beer in excitement for this concert. When we first arrived at Fine Line music cafe, the crowd was already pretty packed. Opening for The Strumbellas was Cece Coakley, a 22-year-old Knoxville singer songwriter.
Cece Coakley
Her music definitely fit inside the same vibes that The Strumbellas do, meaning the music is meant to be listened to while exploring nature and driving in the mountains. Her voice was very indie, and filled up the stage with only her and another band member. She joked about why each of her songs were written, two in a row being about a crush because quote “What else would a 22-year-old girl talk about?”. One of her last songs was about moving back into her parents house after being away for awhile and how that feels. She then jokingly told everyone to buy her merch so they could help her move out of her parents house!
The Strumbellas
Once the stage was fully set up for The Strumbellas to come out, you could tell the production was going to be fantastic. And sure enough during their first song, I was awed at the lights and colors that this crew had. Fine Line has pretty decent house lighting, but what The Strumbellas added was incredible. Immediately the lead singer Jimmy who took over in 2022 for vocals was bounding all across the stage, and each band member (minus the drummer of course) would come forward and play for the crowd. Dave, a crowd favorite based on what those around were saying, brought a fun and light hearted comedic tone to the entire set. He did a little skit leading into the song “War” which is one of The Strumbellas older tunes. The band later on brought out a box where concert goers could write what keeps them going. The band stated they started doing this in inspiration of their new album Part Time Believer.
The band slowed things down a bit in the second half of the set, with the violinist Isabel stating they were going to sing some songs about death. For two of the songs, it was just band members Jimmy, Isabel, and Jon, creating a solemn and personal listening experience. They then sped up the set playing another older tune “Young & Wild”, which lead into the last few songs. They stated they don’t do encores anymore, because they are “tired of hiding”. This concert is one of my favorites to date that I have seen at Fine Line, and I am more that happy to have seen this Canadien band back in the states after 5 years.
Check out other tour dates HERE.
