Trevor Sensor : “Well I’m dying in this land…” Four years ago, Illinois singer-songwriter Trevor Sensor released his debut album, Andy Warhol’s Dream. A genre-blending work of folk-inspired, punkinfused indie rock tunes, it explored the American idolization of celebrity and the desperation of small town youth yearning for something more. The album won critical praise with it being referred to as a “ragged, feverish concoction, fortified by choppy-bar-band tropes” (Mojo), a “promising first effort for an aggressively intelligent wunderkind climbing the shoulders of giants” (Paste), and “worthy of far more than 15 minutes of fame” (Q Magazine). Now, he returns with his sophomore effort, On Account of Exile Vol. 1. The record is a collection of rural tales by an aged and imaginative drifter. Sensor continues his music explorations through infusing new elements of jazz, blues, and symphonic arrangements into his songwriting foundation, while still remaining a straightforward storyteller whose characters subsist on the unreported outskirts—where myth and mystery still thrive in conjunction with a world where heroism is dead. The songs fanatical, the lyricism morbidly direct, Sensor aims past the plastic glamour of 21st Century America in search of, as he says, “What’s really happening out there”. During his time away from music, the Illinois born troubadour worked various blue-collar jobs while roaming parts of the Midwest and Front Range. Having set the pen aside for a time, Sensor wasn’t sure if there was anything left for him to say. He’d separated from his label and management, and didn’t know if another record would ever be made again. He contemplated whether life was pushing him in another direction. “The wheels fell off,” he says. “I didn’t feel like writing songs anymore if I wasn’t sure they would ever be brought to life properly on record. So I forced myself to stop writing. I busied myself through punishing my body instead—it’d grown soft from the few years of touring I did. So I took up weightlifting, looked for more physically demanding jobs, and spent the rest of my time lounging about reading. I was doing nothing with myself.” But the songs did eventually force their way out. After reconnecting with producer Brandon Darner, who offered to produce his next few records, Sensor broke down the internal dam he’d built and returned to his steady writing output. The result is a body of work that laments both internal and external feelings of exile from modern life—decorated with lonesome scenes of small town America. The singer’s trademark raspy voice howls the plights of broken marriages, trailer park living, college debt, time passing slowly, and the under currents of cultural turmoil in a civilization that’s lost its identity and soul. “I’ve done my best to separate myself from Time,” Sensor says reflecting on the newly finished works. “I no longer think about when the next thing will be made or what I should be doing with myself at any point in time. I still gotta wake up every morning and just get on with it, you know? I’ve always viewed the word ‘career’ as something dirty—a trap that keeps people from living more expansively outside these arbitrary identities or roles they’ve attached themselves to. I believe in just doing things—in action—and doing things well. Whatever happens after is just the way things go. Death being the Great Equalizer that it is, when it’s all said and done it isn’t about who you were but what you did.”

Wildstreet Wildstreet began in 2006 and released their self-titled debut album on Retrospect Records in 2009. The band spent the next 4 years touring nonstop & performing at US festivals including: Rocklahoma (5 consecutive years), SXSW & M3 Rock Festival. Wildstreet rocked alongside Black Veil Brides, Vains of Jenna, The Bouncing Souls, The Last Vegas, Twisted Sister, Michael Monroe, Crashdiet, Diemonds, Kix, LA Guns and more. The band won the Best Buy/Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands for Rockstar Energy’s Uproar Festival, and opened for Avenged Sevenfold, Sevendust and Three Days Grace in Camden, NJ. In 2011, the band released Wildstreet II..Faster..Louder! to widespread critical acclaim. They made an appearance on “The Jimmy Fallon show” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT2Wpp7NkK8) and their songs were licensed to TV shows on E!, MTV, VH1, Oxygen, TBS & in a THQ Video game. Later that year, the band released the official music video for “Poison Kiss,” which included a cameo by Don Jameson of “The Metal Show.” Wildstreet now had the attention of rock fans worldwide. In 2012, the band released the single “Easy Does It,” and it’s official music video. The video went viral on YouTube. (Wildstreet has well-over 4 million views and nearly 8,000 subscribers on that platform). After taking a 2 1/2 year break off & dodging rumors of a band breakup, Wildstreet exploded back onto the NYC scene in 2016, headlining Gramercy Theatre with new lineup. In early 2017, the band rocked NYC with Faster Pussycat and The Biters and headed to Rocklahoma for the 6th time. The band began work on their single “Raise Hell” after Rocklahoma. Released in December 2017, it ushered in a new period for the band. They headlined Irving Plaza for the single’s release party, and was handpicked by Dorothy to open for her New York City tour date at The Bowery Ballroom. In February 2018, the band released a lyric/concert video for “Raise Hell.” Wildstreet spent the remainder of 2018 in the studio recording, Wildstreet III. They performed regional tour dates/festival dates. Highlights include: opening for Sebastian Bach & Escape The Fate. In March, the band sold out The Knitting Factory Brooklyn and then headed out on their first tour in Europe, playing 10 shows in Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, including Sleaze Fest 2019 in Bochum, Germany. Upon returning to NYC, Wildstreet filmed the official music video for “Tennessee Cocaine.” In July, they headlined a sold out NYC show at Saint Vitus and headed out for a short West Coast tour which included stops at The Whisky-agogo & Great American Music Hall. The official music video and single for ‘Tennessee Cocaine’ was released on all major digital & streaming platforms August 23rd. It has 160,000 spotify streams & over 100,000 Youtube views. Their most recent release ‘Three Way Ride’ has reached 100,000 streams, and 50,000 views on YouTube. They have confirmed festival dates at The Call of The Wild (UK), Sleaze N’ Hard IV (Colombia), Rockfest 2020 (US) & in 2021 Hard Rock Hell AOR Festival (UK), COQ festival (EU). The band release their latest single, ‘Born To Be’ on February 21st and it was added onto Spotify’s editorial list ‘Hard Rock.’

Deb Talan (of the Weepies) September 10, 2021 Doors: 7:30 PM // Show: 8:00PM Online Scheduled Ticket Price: GENERAL ADMISSION: $15.00 Deb Talan has been writing songs since she was 14 years old. Granted, her style has changed a bit since writing the forever-unknown smash-hit “Through the Window” about feeling numb, like life was going on somewhere out there but not accessible to her (at 14. so jaded.) She played clarinet, wrote songs on piano, later taught herself to play guitar in college, got obsessed with Shawn Colvin, was a vegetarian for 4 years, ended that with a hotdog and a swim in lake Michigan, started a band in Portland, OR with her friend Mark, named it Hummingfish, wrote a lot of fun songs that people danced to ‘til they were all sweaty in that hipster/grungy/geeky Northwest kind of way, moved back to the east coast 6 years and a divorce later and began playing solo in Boston coffee houses (read: 4 different Starbucks that she also poured espresso at) opened shows for Catie Curtis (a songwriter hero of hers) met up with Steve Tannen and formed The Weepies, played shows all over the country and the world, toured in a real tourbus! moved to LA, got married to Steve, made 5 records and 3 amazing boy-children together with him, had songs placed in loads of movies and tv shows, moved to Iowa, got breast cancer, got chemotherapy and relied heavily on marijuana for pain and nausea relief(Legalize, for gods’ sakes, can we grow up as a country, please?) recovered from breast cancer, made a solo album, struggled with mental health issues (Childhood Incest Survivor, lucky to be alive, music has helped, and so have many blessed healers) and relationship issues for 6 years, got divorced from Steve. She has a lot she could say these days. She prefers to listen. But playing songs for people is a close second. Music heals. Songs can be prayers. Deb Talan is some lovely damn proof of that.

Halfloves   Halfloves is a 5 piece indie rock band from eastern Iowa. Each member found a passion for music in different settings and styles (classical, jazz, hardcore, indie) which makes for a unique collaborative context the band continues to explore and expand.   Halfloves released self-titled debut album in 2016 which was produced by Brandon Darner (prod. of Imagine Dragons, Dave Keuning of the Killers, etc.) After follow-up single “Wrong Songs” in 2017 the band began working on sophomore album “Dazer” which was released in 2019.   Dazer was recorded at The Magic Barn, second life of famed NY studio The Magic Shop where David Bowie, Lou Reed, Bjork, Coldplay and countless other legendary acts made their music. Dazer’s lead-off single “A Little Lie” saw some early success following a review from acclaimed music critic Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop) in which he likened the sound to Radiohead. UK publication Far Out Magazine called the track “a woozy pop-noir gem”.   Most recently, Halfloves released single “Do U Follow Me?”, a funky upbeat summer jam that plays with social media, social pressures and the need for approval. Atwood Magazine calls it “a standout in a sea of mediocrity”.    

Wave Cage

    Wave Cage is a jazz fusion/electronic band based out of Iowa City featuring Ryan Garmoe on trumpet, Nolan Schroeder on sax, Jarrett Purdy on keys and synths, and Chris Jensen on drums. Their debut project, The Portrait EP, was described by Little Village Magazine as “an engaging, atmospheric, beautifully produced, and humorous recording”, and by the River Cities’ Reader as “evoking the smooth melodies and diverse textures of early Weather Report; the ambitious, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink arrangements of groups such as Jaga Jazzist; and the more genre-agnostic trip-hop beat decisions of such projects as Thievery Corporation and Zero 7.” Wave Cage’s second project is set for release in the spring of 2022 with financial support provided by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Strong Like Bear

Strong Like Bear is a band from Ames, Iowa, that has played together since 2006. By writing melodic songs that show off their vocal harmonies and collective musicianship, SLB has become a mainstay in Iowa music, playing across the state and beyond. The band has recorded numerous EPs, singles, and albums, including a pornographic Christmas concept album and their recent foray into stoner rock, “In The Future, Only The Rich Will Live Forever,” and has taken part in album tributes to Pink Floyd’s “Animals” and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.”

Good Morning Midnight

Iowa City’s Good Morning Midnight is the ongoing and ever-evolving songwriting brainchild of Charlie Cacciatore. Described as “a cacophony in hushed tones,” GMM’s 90’s inspired indie rock sound has culminated in their latest release, “Songs of Violence.”

Beat Club

Beat Club is an instrumental and experimental exercise in the groove. This will be their debut performance.

The Host Country

The Host Country brings you rock infused with Americana, blues, and folk. Unique, lyrically driven music that’s inviting and sincere, tinged with the rawness of the emotions that live within love, longing, regret, joy, and everything in between. Dual vocalists & songwriters Ty Wistrand (guitar) & Diana Weishaar (keys) along with Tom Rue (bass), Ethan Weishaar (drums), and Michael Lovan (guitar) use their music to tell a story that’s heartfelt, relatable, and magnetic. Their 3rd full length album ‘STRIKE GENTLY’ is out now. (photo credit: Alyssa Lecht)

Anthony Worden & the Illiterati

Anthony Worden’s third release and the first with his band, The Illiterati, “Voilá” (out Feb. 14th) was recorded at the relocated home of New York’s famed studio, The Magic Shop (featured on HBO’s “Sonic Highways”). It now resides as the Magic Barn, a rural recording studio based in Solon, Iowa; near the band’s hometown of Iowa City. The record was made over the course of a year with mixing and mastering by Clay Jones (Modest Mouse, Soccer Mommy, and Royal Trux).

“Voilá” is a love letter to the history of independent Rock ’n’ Roll and an homage to recording techniques and aesthetics yesteryear, while also seeking to advance the conversation of genre-melding and accessibility in the 21st Century.

Anthony Worden and his band have performed with Neil Michael Hagerty, Jay Som, The Preoccupations, and Circuit Des Yeux. They continue to play around Iowa and the Midwest as well as record new material.