wed08dec6:00 PMArlo McKinley w/ Jeremy Pinnell6:00 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

First Fleet Concerts Presents:

Arlo McKinley w/ Jeremy Pinnell at xBk

Doors: 6:00 PM Show: 7:00 PM All Ages

$15 In Advance (General Admission) $18 Day of Show (General Admission)

Tickets go on sale on Friday, August 13th at 10:00 AM CST online at www.firstfleetconcerts.com.

Time

(Wednesday) 6:00 PM

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About Arlo McKinley

Gifted singer-songwriter Arlo McKinley will release his debut solo record at age 40 on John Prine’s Oh Boy records – after he almost gave up on music altogether, his story is one of hope and sincerity, and he is living proof that great songs will reach the right ears eventually, even if it takes time.

McKinley’s Oh Boy Records solo debut, Die Midwestern, is deeply rooted in street soul, country, punk, and gospel and draws on personal stories, set against the backdrop of his hometown of Cincinnati Ohio. It was crafted downriver, in Memphis’ legendary Sam Phillips Recording Service, produced by GRAMMY award-winning Matt Ross-Spang, with an all-star Memphis band of Ken Coomer, David Smith, Will Sexton, Rick Steff, Jessie Munson and Reba Russell. There, McKinley recorded ten remarkable songs – some dating back fifteen years – all penned with a weight, honesty and gritty-hope that comes from living in the rustbelt city where his songs were born. Matt Ross-Spang, stated,

“I am in awe of Arlo’s songs and his dedication and embodiment of each one when he performs them . His willingness to bare it all on this record was more electric than the equipment used to capture it.”

Arlo McKinley is the last artist John and his son Jody signed together to their label Oh Boy records. Jody Whelan shared,

“John was reserved in his praise for songwriters. I played him a couple of Arlo’s songs and he heard Bag Of Pills and said, “that’s a good song” which for him, was very high praise. He loved Arlo’s voice, this big guy with a sweet, soulful, gospel voice. He loved the dichotomy of the hard life lived, presented through such beautiful songs and John was very excited about the promise of the album’s release.”

McKinley stated,

“The feeling of knowing that a hero of mine took time out of his day to come see me perform is such an accomplishment in itself to me that if it all ended the next day and I found out music just wasn’t in the cards for me, I would’ve still considered everything I have done as a success.”

On Die Midwestern, McKinley’s songs bleed truth and emotion from a heart scarred by wild nights and redeemed by soulful Sunday morning confessions. His lyrics are laid bare, stark and arresting in their honesty, and often penned from real-life experience. “Bag Of Pills” is an autobiographical and frank account of the drug issues which affect his hometown,

“ I wrote it after I sold some pills so I could take a girl out. Those were rough times and also right around the time I started seeing a real drug addiction very close to me. After watching so many friends die from drug abuse it turned into me praying that it doesn’t get any worse while knowing that it will resulting in my writing of the lyrics, ‘life I don’t want it if it’s so easy to die.’”

“Gone For Good” sees McKinley share his lessons from broken relationships,

“I wrote ‘Gone For Good’ after a serious long relationship of mine ended. It’s about me realizing how short I fell on even trying to make it work.” Title track “Die Midwestern” reflects on McKinley’s love/hate relationship with Ohio, “I love it because it’s everything that I am but I hate it because I’ve seen it take my loved ones lives. I’ve seen it make hopeful people hopeless.” McKinley reflects on his brutal honesty in his songs, “Songwriting has to be real. I’m 100% putting myself out there, I’m not writing fiction. To me it is just about honesty. “

By age 8, McKinley was singing at his family’s church, Bethlehem United Baptist where he first saw the light of music. Early musical loves outside church were his Kentucky native father’s bluegrass and timeless country records of Hank Williams, Sr. as well as, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Otis Redding and George Jones. Then his two older brothers’ punk and metal collection drove him to throw himself raw onto the Cincinnati punk scene.

“I grew up in the punk scene with my brothers and dad has all of that stuff that came out of King Records like Hank Williams and I was just surrounded by it,” McKinley says. “I still take parts of it and I feel I write songs in a punk rock way…”

With concert covers ranging from Johnny Paycheck and The Misfits to Rihanna and Post Malone McKinley shows a diverse range of musical interest, which he attributes to musically melting pot of the Cincinnati music scene,

“You go back to the history of Cincinnati music and you can see and feel that the river back then connected everything and it all flowed into one spot and brought all kinds of music here,” says McKinley, adding, “That’s why I think this town has never been known for one kind of music because so many things came through here.”

He pursued a solo career from 2014, with his own band The Lonesome Sound and achieved some success including a nomination for Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Best Americana Act from the Cincinnati Music Awards, but his career stalled and he almost gave up altogether,

“I don’t know why the world works the way it does but I’m beyond grateful to be in this situation.” McKinley stated, adding, “ I’m a little wiser in my ways and a 20 something me would’ve found a way to destroy the one dream that has stuck with me my entire life. Being a working musician.”

He also almost missed his big break, which came when he was offered an opening slot for Tyler Childers, and his now manager, was trying to reach him on the phone to offer him an opening slot. Arlo initially dodged the persistent unknown caller. Eventually, they connected after a friend hit him up on social media and he took the call.

“My buddy was like, Arlo.. Tyler’s team are trying to get hold of you.. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t take that call. Still delivering tuxedos which was my side job before I was a full-time musician.”

Since, McKinley has been making a name for himself around the country, humbly sharing stages with kindred musical spirits John Moreland, Jason Isbell, Justin Townes Earle, and contemporary rising singer/songwriters Ian Noe and Colter Wall, eventually attracting the attention of Oh Boy, who signed him in March 2020.

McKinley reflects on the significance of the timing of his release, stating, “I only met John briefly and I would’ve loved to have sat with John and talked music which I’m sure would’ve happened but I treasure the moment we had together when he came to see me play a show. His passing was a major knockdown blow for the entire team. I’m sure John had a vision for Oh Boy Records and I’m proud and honored to be able to contribute to the labels continued legacy.”

McKinley’s Die Midwestern remains an album of hope and he knows first hand how his music can connect with his growing audience.

“I had a guy who was dealing with brain cancer walk up to me and say that he was done with it but something in my songs resonated with him and made him get out and start living even though he knows what is ahead of him. Nothing is more important than that. That’s why I write songs like I do. I’m just another lost, hurting person in this place – I just like to sing about it.”

Upcoming Events

fri28jan7:00 PMSpectral Snake with Ryan Stier [POSTPONED]Psychadelic, introspective, elegant songwriting7:00 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

PLEASE NOTE THIS SHOW IS BEING POSTPONED! This event will be updated with the new show date when confirmed. All tickets will be transferred to the new date. If you are unable to make the new date please request a refund and we’ll be happy to accommodate your request.

xBk Presents: Spectral Snake with Ryan Stier January 28, 2022 Advance: $10 // Door: $13 Doors: 7:00PM // Show: 8PM

Spectral Snake (Brooks Strause and Angela Barr, Iowa City) and Ryan Stier (The River Monks, Extravision, Annalibera) will bring a blend of psychedelic, introspective, elegant, and sometimes spooky songwriting to xBk on Friday January 28, 2022. While touring together in 2019 and 2021, Brooks, Angie, and Ryan began collaborating musically, worshipped a magic “Chumby” stone, frequented diners daily, chased autumn colors, and performed almost exclusively in living rooms of holy friends.

Spectral Snake has been described as “The Two-headed Leonard Cohen of Horror”, “The Lovecraftian Spoonful”, and “If the Misfits were Simon and Garfunkel”. Brooks and Angela collaborate on songwriting and arrangements, and include a revolving door of friends to help perform the music live.

Ryan Stier blends introspective melodies with intimate, finger-plucked guitar to create what has been described as “kaleidoscopic ruminations on humanness and the unknowable beyond.”

The two will co-headline at xBk 1/28/22.

Time

(Friday) 7:00 PM

Location

xBk

1159 24th St

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sat05feb12:30 PMKoo Koo Kangaroo12:30 PM Buy Tickets

sat05feb7:00 PMJake Blount w/ Laurel Premo7:00 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

xBk Presents:

Jake Blount

February 5, 2021

Advance: $10 // Door: $13

Doors: 7:00PM // Show: 8PM

Time

(Saturday) 7:00 PM

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Jake Blount

Jake Blount is an award-winning banjoist, fiddler, singer and scholar based in Providence, RI. He is half of the internationally touring duo Tui, a 2020 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, and a board member of Bluegrass Pride. He is a two-time winner and many-time finalist of the Appalachian String Band Music Festival (better known as Clifftop). Although he is proficient in multiple performance styles, he specializes in the music of Black and indigenous communities in the southeastern United States, and in the regional style of Ithaca, New York. He foregrounds the experiences of queer people and people of color in his work. He has studied with modern masters of old-time music, including Bruce Molsky, Judy Hyman (of the Horse Flies), and Rhiannon Giddens and Hubby Jenkins (of the GRAMMY-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops)

Laurel Premo:

She is a Michigan-based artist who has been writing, arranging, and touring since 2009 with vocal and instrumental roots acts, and is internationally known from her duo Red Tail Ring. Premo holds a BFA from the Performing Arts Technology Dept. of the University of Michigan School of Music, and has spent half-year stints at both the Sibelius Academy of Music in Helsinki, Finland and the University College of Southeast Norway in Telemark to study traditional music and dance. Important mentors who have helped shape Laurel’s lens in folk arts have been her parents Bette & Dean Premo (fiddle, guitar, and traditional song, Michigan), Joel Mabus (clawhammer banjo, Michigan), Arto Järvelä (fiddle, Finland), and Ånon Egeland (fiddle, Norway). Alongside several continuing music projects, she is active in organizing community events that connect people with folk art and dance

sun06feb1:00 PM4:00 PMGirls Rock! Des Moines – Open Mic1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Buy Tickets

sun06feb6:30 PMGrady Spencer & The Work6:30 PM Buy Tickets

thu10feb7:00 PMClem Snide w/ Lily DeTaeye7:00 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

xBk Presents

Clem Snide w/ Lily DeTaeye

Thursday, February 10, 2022

ADVANCE: $12 // DOS: $15

DOORS: 7:00PM // SHOW: 8PM

Time

(Thursday) 7:00 PM

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Clem Snide “The last ten years have been a rollercoaster of deep despair and amazing opportunities that somehow present themselves at the last possible second,” says Eef Barzelay. “During that time, the band bottomed out, I lost my house, and I had to declare bankruptcy. The only way to survive was to try to transcend myself, to find some kind of deeper, spiritual relationship with life. Once I committed to that, all these little miracles started happening.” ‘Forever Just Beyond,’ Barzelay’s stunning album under the Clem Snide moniker, may just be the most miraculous of them all. Produced by Scott Avett, the record is a work of exquisite beauty and profound questioning, a reckoning with faith and reality that rushes headlong into the unknown and the unknowable. The songs here grapple with hope and depression, identity and perception, God and the afterlife, humanizing thorny existential issues and delivering them with the intimate, understated air of a late-night conversation between old friends. Avett’s production is similarly warm and inviting, and the careful, spacious arrangement of gentle guitars and spare percussion carves a wide path for Barzelay’s insightful lyrics and idiosyncratic delivery. “I look up to Eef with total respect and admiration,” says Avett, “and I hope to survive like he survives: with total love for the new and the unknown. Eef’s a crooner and an indie darling by sound and a mystic sage by depth. That’s not common, but it’s beautiful.” Named for a William S. Borroughs character, Clem Snide first emerged from Boston as a three-piece in the early 1990’s, and the group would go on to become a cult and critical favorite, picking up high profile fans from Bon Iver to Ben Folds over the course of three decades and more than a dozen studio albums. NPR highlighted the Israeli-born Barzelay as “the most underrated songwriter in the business today, with a sneakily firm grasp on poignancy and humor,” while Rolling Stone hailed his songwriting as “soulful and incisive,” and The New Yorker praised his music’s “soothing melodies and candid wit.” Barzelay currently resides in Nashville, TN.

fri11feb7:00 PMChad Elliot7:00 PM Buy Tickets

sat12feb7:00 PMNaughty Nerds Presents “Naughtier & Nerdier” –VAX/NEGATIVE TEST REQUIRED– [RESCHEDULED]Shake off your holiday hangover by gettin’ nerdy with it7:00 PM Buy Tickets

fri18feb7:00 PMAaron Kamm and the One Drops7:00 PM Buy Tickets

sat19feb7:00 PMGlad Rags (Chicago) w/ Huxley Maxwell’s Cartoon Smokers & Allegra Hernandez7:00 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

xBk Presents: Glad Rags w/ Huxley Maxwell’s Cartoon Smokers & Allegra Hernandez Saturday, February 19, 2022 ADVANCE: $10 // DOS: $13 DOORS: 7:00PM // SHOW: 8PM

Time

(Saturday) 7:00 PM

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Chicago six-piece Glad Rags returns to Des Moines for the first time since 2019. They are touring throughout the Spring in support of their debut LP ‘ALL OF THEM’ released in October.

The concept album navigates themes of cancel culture and community responses to healing. Produced by bandleader Mable Gladly, it was released through their label Sinkhole Sounds and mastered by Jake Viator (Jerry Paper, MNDSGN, Julia Holter). Embroidering disparate influences into an original art pop mosaic has become the group’s signature style.

Formed in 2015 in Chicago’s DIY scene, their first releases came through underground label Grandpa Bay (Water From Your Eyes, Mykele Deville, This Is Lorelei) before setting off to record their acclaimed follow-up ‘Wonder Under’ through local label Midwest Action. While joined by fourteen collaborators on their studio projects, Glad Rags keeps their live shows raw with high-energy interpretations of their songs that truly defy genre. They have shared stages with Sen Morimoto, Hop Along, Nnamdï, Speedy Ortiz, Post Animal, The Oh My’s, Sloppy Jane, The Ophelias, The Beths, ONO, Emily Blue, Tasha, White Mystery, GIRL K, Andrew Sa, No Men, Emily Blue, GRLwood + Resavoir.

The core members write and arrange collaboratively to create an original blend of art rock, disco, new wave, psych pop, and experimental jazz. They’ve been featured by Bandcamp, Bust Magazine, Chicago Tribune, The Reader, and were recently dubbed “One of Chicago’s most promising queer bands” by the Windy City Times.

sun20feb1:00 PM4:00 PMGR!LIVE – Rock ‘N’ Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe feat. Penny Peach1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Buy Tickets

sun20feb7:00 PM11:00 PMBen Eisenberger with Sara RouthAn intimate evening of folk music to cap off your weekend7:00 PM – 11:00 PM CST Buy Tickets

Event Details

xBk Presents:

Ben Eisenberger with Sara Routh

February 20, 2022

Advance: $10 // Door: $13

Doors: 7:00PM // Show: 7:30PM

Omaha songwriter Ben Eisenberger’s lines are pensive and delicate with occasional flourishes that speak to the deep sense of compositional clarity on this record. Eisenberger’s quiet reflections on love, relationships and the relentless feeling of watching others’ lives unfold around you as you float in and out of them are given center stage recalling the existential grace and angst of artists like Glen Campbell, Joni Mitchell, and Nick Drake. “Eisenberger’s voice moves from a high pitch that is reminiscent of at times to lower and warmer registers, but in any case, it always seems to come from the past. Even his compositions come directly from the Greenwich Village of the sixties and just listen to a few notes of his guitar to find yourself catapulted into one of those smoky and a little gloomy places where, thanks to the Open Mic evenings, young hopeful artists from all over the United States performed” – TRISTE on Soloists (2020)

Ben’s Spotify

https://beneisenberger.com

https://www.instagram.com/beneisenberger

https://www.twitter.com/beneisenberger

Sara Routh is a Des Moines native who’s traveled around the world bringing her music to audiences across the globe. Her engaging spirit on stage draws the listener to pause, sit and emotionally experience each performance. Routh has won accolades for her songwriting since 2006 and continues to develop new sounds throughout her musical journey. A strong vocal talent, Routh’s ability to balance lyrics, sense of style and rhythm leaves her audiences wanting a return performance. She has been compared to the incredible talents of Ella Fitzgerald and Joni Mitchell. Sara Routh is a musical force of nature who continues to embrace community and life, bringing each reality to song.

Sara’s Spotify

https://sararouth.com

https://www.instagram.com/sararouth

https://www.youtube.com/user/ssrouth

Time

(Sunday) 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM

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fri25feb7:00 PMBitter Canyon w/ Great Caesar’s Goat7:00 PM Buy Tickets

sat26feb7:00 PMNight Moves7:00 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

xBk Presents: Night Moves Saturday, February 26, 2022 ADVANCE: $15 // DOS: $18 DOORS: 7:00PM // SHOW: 8PM

Time

(Saturday) 7:00 PM

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Night Moves new album, Can You Really Find Me, pulsates and glows with the same sublime energy that radiated from breakout single “Carl Sagan” in 2016, however in the intervening years, John Pelant and Micky Alfano have grown up. The songwriting, while still steeped in super-catchy, velvety riffs and pure pop glaze, feels more sophisticated and modern. Since the pair met in high school, awestruck by such ear-candy wizards as Brian Wilson, Todd Rundgren, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, they set off to craft their version of what sophisticated, emotional modern pop music can and should sound like. 2016’s Pennied Days was a breakthrough, and set a new bar for the members of Night Moves. After spending the subsequent two years on Can You Really Find Me, they’ve scaled new heights, where the sounds are still just as sweet, but now smarter, more evocative, and perfectly designed for a summer release. So how did something that feels so warm and breezy – like the perfect summer soundtrack – emerge from the dead of a bleak and frigid Minneapolis winter? Pelant and Alfano sequestered themselves, dreaming their way out of the cold by writing songs like “Coconut Grove,” a whirly psychedelic love song, and “Ribboned Skies,” a blazing ode to guitars and syncopation. Minneapolis has always played a part in the creative process for these dyed-in-the-wool locals. Long heralded as local hot shots in the cold, desolate, land of Prince, Westerberg and Dylan, John and Micky have still never stopped working the grind; in donut shops, bakeries and restaurants, toiling to make ends meet yet trying find beauty in the mundanity, and in the tranquil midnights. Pelant, as a writer, thrives in the gloom of isolation; a cold void, “I think it’s this type of environment that helps me feel focused. Zero distractions. Focused in a way where I can tap into certain emotions. I think some of the best music transports you to a place in time where your memories become potent visualizations. When writing closed off like this, you can see the images easily and your brain will pick the right chords and tones and guide you where you ought to go. I think being alone during that type of hibernation season is a great space in which to create.” Once they emerged from their creative cocoon, it was down to the warmth and mythical allure of Austin, TX to bring the album to life. If Minneapolis was about hunkering down in cold isolation, Austin was about heat and life, working with producer Jim Eno (founding member and drummer of Spoon) out of Public Hi-Fi Studios, alongside live band members Mark Hanson and Chuck Murlowski, to record the ten tracks that make up Can You Really Find Me. The tunefulness of this collection is not by accident. As Pelant deadpans, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could make a record that sounded like it has a lot of singles on it?” Whether it’s the infinitely hooky “Strands Align,” the up-tempo synth flourishes of “Recollections,” or the buttery soul of “Saving the Dark,” each song so adeptly sticks to the album premise of feeling “single-like” that you wonder how they will even choose any. In the grab bag of modern pop genres, from neo-psychedelia to shoe-gaze, ambient pop to cosmic country, Night Moves dream big on Can You Really Find Me and deliver a genuinely sparkling set that corrals all of these styles into one cohesive collection. Reflecting once more on the new album, Pelant feels it functions in part as a rumination on aging; a period piece denoting his last 3 years, “I told myself at 18 I wanted to dedicate my 20’s to music and if nothing came of it, I would move on. So now closing out my 20’s, I feel there is still ground left to cover, I’m not quite satisfied yet. Our last album saw us hit a lot of hurdles; despite the successes we had, we parted ways with our management and lost a founding member of the band. While it’s proven to be a bumpy ride, I feel it just may be worth the trouble. I think I’m more comfortable now in my skin than I was at 24.”

sun27feb6:00 PMRichard Smith6:00 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

xBk Presents:

Richard Smith February 27, 2022 Advance: $10 // Door: $13 Doors: 6:00PM // Show: 7PM

Time

(Sunday) 6:00 PM

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Fresh back from touring with his long time collaborator, Tommy Emmanuel, Richard Smith performs on Sunday Feb 27th bringing with him a wide range of styles and techniques. From fiery fingerpicking tunes to jazz, fiddle tunes, pop, Sousa Marches, Joplin rags, classical repertoire, country and a smattering of vocals all presented in his cordial style of humor, this promises to be an evening not to be missed by any serious guitar player in the area. https://www.facebook.com/richardsmithfingerpicker www.richardsmithmusic.com www.youtube.com/richardsmithmusic Born in 1971 in Beckenham, England, Richard started early and first picked up the guitar at the age of 5 with his father teaching him his first chords and songs. After some early solo performances and six years of working as a trio with two of his brothers, Rob and Sam in the 90’s, Richard moved to Nashville, TN. in January 2000. In 2001 he won the national fingerpicking championship and has since forged a career as a solo artist, performing all over the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and Brazil, releasing solo records, duet and ensemble records. Constantly touring with a repertoire of fingerpicking classics, originals, fiddle tunes, blues, Joplin rags, jazz standards, classical repertoire and everything from pop to Sousa marches, Richard has also performed or recorded along the way with Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Tommy Emmanuel, Suzy Bogguss, Steve Wariner, Jimmy Fortune, Earl Klugh, Martin Taylor, Joscho Stephan, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, John Schneider, Lee Roy Parnell, Brent Mason, Rory Hoffman and a host of others

tue01mar7:00 PMSam Weber w/ Matthew Fowler7:00 PM Buy Tickets

thu03mar6:30 PMAll Access Live! Featuring James Tutson and The Roll Back + Bridges2HarmonyJoin Iowa Public Radio at xBk on March 3 for a live broadcast and taping of “All Access Live!”6:30 PM CST Buy Tickets

Event Details

James Tutson and the Rollback will be playing smooth soul and gospel music from 7-9 p.m. Several songs in his set will feature the Bridges2Harmony Gospel Choir from Roosevelt High School.

Tickets: $10 ADV

**About James Tutson and the Rollback**

James Tutson and the Rollback is a modern rhythm and blues/soul band from Iowa City. The group was formed in 2016 when singer-songwriter James Tutson assembled a 4-piece backing band to rehearse and record his second full-length album, On Hope (2017). After playing a handful of local shows and discovering a tight, crowd-pleasing sound on stage, Tutson christened his new ensemble “the Rollback,” and a band was born.

Tutson gradually shed his folk-rock songwriter beginnings and returned to his roots—soul and gospel—as he put his heartfelt lyrics to music that critics described as “roughed-up soul.” In late 2018, JTRB began writing a new album, Make You Free (2019), which they recorded at Uno Mas Studios in Nashville. Where On Hope was a collection of Tutson’s compositions accompanied by “the Rollback,” Make You Free represents the band’s collaborative songwriting effort and showcases a more mature, polished r&b and gospel sound. Indeed, Tutson’s lyrics probe the hopes and anxieties of fatherhood, the pursuit of goodness, and the freeing power of love. As Tutson and the Rollback sing in the album’s opening track, “Love should make you free.”

The band—comprised of a lawyer, a chemist, a software consultant, a German professor, and a youth organizer—had a busy 2019 opening for Lake Street Dive, Marc Broussard, The Jayhawks, Blitzen Trapper, and others, and was poised for an even bigger year in 2020. But the COVID pandemic meant that the album release show in October 2019 was the band’s last live show until 2021, when JTRB is already scheduled to play a handful of shows in Iowa City. James also appeared on NBC’s The Voice in March 2021.

For more info, including photos, streaming music, and James Tutson’s forthcoming solo EP (“Still”), visit the band’s website at jamestutson.com.

**About All Access Live!**

All Access is a music show produced by Iowa Public Radio Studio One that airs Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and Sundays from 7-10 p.m. During each show, we play live sets that we record at venues across Iowa and during our live concert series “All Access Live!”

Studio One hosts All Access Live! concerts at partnering venues, broadcasting them live on-air and streaming online on YouTube.

**About Studio One**

Studio One is Iowa Public Radio’s non-commercial, indie, alternative and americana music service and Iowa’s NPR Music affiliate. Studio One takes over Iowa Public Radio’s airwaves at 7 p.m. each night and on the weekends to spin music by local, regional and national artists. Studio One also programs a 24-hour online radio station that streams on our website and on the Iowa Public Radio app.

Time

(Thursday) 6:30 PM CST

Location

xBk

1159 24th St

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fri04mar7:00 PMChicago Farmer & the Fieldnotes7:00 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

xBk Presents

Chicago Farmer & the Fieldnotes Friday, March 4th 2022 ADVANCE: $15 // DOS: $18 DOORS: 7:00PM // SHOW: 8PM

Time

(Friday) 7:00 PM

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Chicago Farmer & the Fieldnotes The son of a small-town farming community, Cody Diekhoff logged plenty of highway and stage time under the name Chicago Farmer before settling in the city in 2003. Profoundly inspired by fellow Midwesterner John Prine, he’s a working-class folk musician to his core. His small-town roots, tilled with city streets mentality, are turning heads North and South of I-80. “I love the energy, music, and creativity of Chicago, but at the same time, the roots and hard work of my small town,” he shares. Growing up in Delavan, Illinois, with a population less than 2,000, Diekhoff’s grandparents were farmers, and their values have always provided the baseline of his songs. He writes music for “the kind of people that come to my shows. Whether in Chicago or Delavan, everyone has a story, and everyone puts in a long day and works hard the same way,” he says. “My generation may have been labeled as slackers, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t work hard – many people I know put in 50-60 hours a week and 12-hour days. That’s what keeps me playing. I don’t like anyone to be left out; my music is for everyone in big and very small towns.” He listened to punk rock and grunge as a kid before discovering a friend’s dad playing Hank Williams, and it was a revelation. Prine and Guthrie quickly followed. The name Chicago Farmer was originally for a band, but the utilitarian life of driving alone from bar to bar, city to city – to make a direct connection to his audience and listener, took a deeper hold. “You can smell the dirt in the fields, hear the wind as it blows across the plains, and see the people that Chicago Farmer sings about. Each track captures a moment in time, whether for a person or a particular place. Imagine if a John Steinbeck short story had been written as a song, and this will give you a fairly good idea as to what Chicago Farmer accomplishes on his albums.” — HONEST TUNE

mon07mar6:00 PMFeaturedThe Happy FitsBeach Boys-inspired feel good tunes6:00 PM Buy Tickets

sat12mar6:30 PMLa Luz w/ Mamalarky & Tino Drima6:30 PM Buy Tickets

Event Details

First Fleet Concerts Presents:

La Lux with Mamalarky & Tino Drima

Doors: 6:30 PM

Show: 7:30 PM

All Ages

$20 In Advance (General Admission)

$22 Day of Show (General Admission)

Time

(Saturday) 6:30 PM

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About La Luz

On their self-titled fourth album, La Luz launch themselves into a new realm of emotional intimacy for a collection of songs steeped in the mysteries of the natural world and the magic of human chemistry that has found manifestation in the musical ESP between guitarist and songwriter Shana Cleveland, bassist Lena Simon, and keyboardist Alice Sandahl.

To help shape La Luz, the band found a kindred spirit in producer Adrian Younge. Though primarily known for his work with hip-hop, soul, and jazz acts, Younge saw in La Luz a shared vision that transcended genre. “We both create music with the same attitude, and that’s what I love about them,” he says. “They are never afraid to be risky and their style is captivating. It was an honor to work with them.”

The result is an album that is both the most naturalistic and psychedelic of the band’s career. All the elements of classic La Luz are still present—the lush harmonies, the impeccable musicianship, the gorgeous melodies—but it’s a richer, earthier iteration, replete with inorganic sounds that mimic the surreality of nature—the humming of invisible bugs, the atmospheric sizzle of a hot day. La Luz is an album that celebrates love—of music, of friendship, of life in all its forms.

About Mamalarky

“Mamalarky’s tenderly tangled indie rock has the internal logic of ridiculous jokes shared between band members after spending weeks on the road together. In 2020, the young Atlanta-based quartet had more than enough time in each other’s company to develop an idiosyncratic musical language. The sum of friendships and collaborations dating back to their teenage years, the band’s debut album (Fire Talk 2020) melds flashy instrumental moves with head-sticking hooks and lovesick lyrics welcoming anyone into their private world. While Mamalarky are ostensibly an indie-pop group, they stand out from the laid-back melancholy moods of contemporaries with complex instrumental interplay that inspires lean-forward listening.” – Jesse Locke for Pitchfork

About Tino Drima

Tino Drima’s new EP, Suitin’ Up, is raw, emotional, stripped down to basics, and aimed at making you feel. It is the core of what they do–and they do it like no one else.

Having gone the lush route with accompanying horns and strings decorating their debut album Her Kind Of Man, the band decided to “simplify the tunes,” says band frontman Gregory DiMartino, and move forward into “a cleaner, ’70s-inspired production.” There are spaces in the songs now, textures that allow the precision of each note and every lyric to be appreciated more fully.

A singular emotional intensity runs through each of Suitin’ Up’s five songs, but not a single one sounds the same. There is opening track “Lover,” which draws its inspiration from old soul records and Captain Beefheart’s “I’m Glad,” and, says DiMartino, is a “hot, heavy, creamy tune for cruising in the car and night thinking about good times and sex.” There is the weary resignation of “Do The Damn Thing,” in which the song’s protagonist feels like a disengaged character in his own life story, “throwing any kind of shit at the wall of the soul to see if anything sticks.” And there is the surge of pride, of enhanced self-esteem and moral clarity to be had on “The Actress”–a pulsing, standout track about “getting yourself hyped up and saying ‘I deserve this, I have earned it, I am good enough, get out of my way, motherfucker.’”

As always, the dark side and its flipside play a key role in the music of Tino Drima. “Kind Of Strange” offers consolation to someone in a dark place, and EP closer “Please Send Health” sounds like it comes from a very dark place: “It’s about running your body to the ground partying, playing shows, touring, living a fake dream that is harsh and ultimately shitty,” says DiMartino. “About wanting to switch one life for another.”

The versatility that marks Suitin’ Up’s every track has been a hallmark of Tino Drima’s music since the San Franciscan band emerged close to five years ago. The band’s core members—DiMartino (guitar, piano, vocals), Rob Mills (drums, backing vox), Scott Huerta (guitar, backing vox), Henry Baker (keyboards), and Mackenzie Bunch (who played bass, engineered and recorded and mixed it all)—share a passion and musical sophistication that makes Tino Drima’s music something both powerful, and comforting at once. When it touches you, it will touch you deeply. And it will touch you very soon.

sun13mar6:30 PMDan Tedesco (March Residency)6:30 PM Buy Tickets

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xBk Presents: Dan Tedesco March Residency March 13, 20 & 27 Advance: $15 // Door: $18 // Package (all dates): $45 Doors: 6:30PM // Show: 7PM “I’ll be kicking off this residency on Sunday March 13th solo, but will build the sets up each week – bringing different musicians on as we roll along. The arrangements will grow just as the band does – piece by piece. This sort of “workout” is something I’ve wanted to put together for a long time, and look forward to having you join me for the journey.” – DT

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(Sunday) 6:30 PM

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Dan Tedesco : My story is…..that I have no story, per se. I come from a solid family. It’s a point of pride. I grew up in the far west suburbs of Chicago. My folks weren’t rich, but there wasn’t much that I was left wanting. I’ve never been arrested. Always got good grades. I never developed any major drug addictions (at least, not yet). The only serious addiction in my life, if you’d like to call it that, has been with music. Let me bring you up to speed. Piano at age 5. Violin at age 9. Guitar at age 11 after hearing Eddie Van Halen. And that, as they say, is all she wrote. I’ve been madly in love with it ever since.Growing up my ears were fortunate enough to be treated to a fairly eclectic musical mix: The Beatles, Dylan, Paul Simon, James Taylor, The Band, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, CCR, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty. Even a healthy dose of Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner. A friend in my neighborhood used to make cassette mixes for me: The Who, They Might Be Giants, The Police, The Clash. I missed the grunge period, and it wouldn’t be until nearly a decade later that I’d discover the power of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Once I found the guitar, things focused in a touch. It wasn’t unusual for me to fall asleep at night to the sounds of guitar wizards like Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson. And the random Van Halen record was never far away. Then there was the jazz period. Wes Montgomery. Joe Pass. George Benson. Charlie Christian. John Coltrane. Elvin Jones. McCoy Tyner. The things I learned from those guys. Man. It’s everything really. The spirit of jazz. The freedom of it. That’s been it’s great influence on me. But I was always a rock ’n roll kid. Pete Townsend more than Pat Metheny. And, ultimately, I craved power chords over the complex harmonies of jazz. High school was a weird time. I straddled the jock world, playing baseball, and the music world, as a member of the high school jazz band. Most mornings, after being dropped off by the bus, everyone would hang out in the lunchroom before first period. Not me. I’d head straight to a room adjacent to the school’s band rehearsal hall, writing music on the computer. Like I said, it was an addiction. Outside of school, I jammed in a duo with one of my best friend’s, who happened to be a fantastic drummer. We wrote all kinds of stuff. Lots of instrumental music (queue the Satriani). Recorded various demos. But neither of us sang. That made it hard to play out. And most of the other kids were interested in the classics: Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Stones. They weren’t interested in what we had going on. So, like many of my heroes, I was a bit of a social outcast. That, if anything, was and has always been my struggle. Everyone has at least one. And I found my comfort, security and confidence in the world out on the fringe, populated by the misfits. The world of rock ’n roll. Let Me Play My Old Guitar, and sing for you my song Let Me Play My Old Guitar, and sing for you my song I promise you my friend I Will Not Do You Wrong – DT

sun13mar9:00 PMThe Cold Stares9:00 PM Buy Tickets

fri18mar7:00 PMJustin Jarrell7:00 PM Buy Tickets

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xBk Presents:

Justin Jarrell Friday, March 18th ADVANCE: $10 // DOS: $13 DOORS: 7:00PM // SHOW: 8PM

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(Friday) 7:00 PM

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About Justin Jarrell: JUSTIN JARRELL is a singer/songwriter and entertainer. Fans of his pop/rock style have described Justin’s music as modern, top 40. Justin’s debut album was released October 2nd, 2020. Justin Is currently set to release his 2nd studio album early summer of 2022. His music has been referred to as “upbeat and catchy”. Audiences have referred to Justin’s soaring vocals as “captivating”. His commanding stage presence is high energy with a feel-good, make-you-want-to-dance vibe, that also includes classic power ballads and crowd favorites. When asked how his performances can embody so much energy and passion, Justin says, “At a young age I discovered the magic of music and how it made me feel. That’s when I was hooked. Music has the ability to transport people somewhere else when they’re listening, I want to create music that does that. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of things in life that can bring people down. I want my music to be relatable and allow people a chance to escape life for a few minutes to music that means something to them. Life is also filled with great moments too. I’m inspired to write songs that cover both the good and bad.” Justin was born and raised in the Midwest and comes from a musical family, which allowed him to develop and perfect his musical abilities at a young age. Being a rarity in music, Justin doesn’t read music and has the unique ability to play whatever he hears on the piano by ear.

sat19mar6:30 PM11:00 PMSean McConnellLeave the Lights On Tour 20226:30 PM – 11:00 PM

sun20mar6:30 PMDan Tedesco (March Residency)6:30 PM Buy Tickets

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(Sunday) 6:30 PM

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fri25mar7:00 PMPoundgame Addison [RESCHEDULED]7:00 PM Buy Tickets

sun27mar6:30 PMDan Tedesco (March Residency)6:30 PM Buy Tickets

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(Sunday) 6:30 PM

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wed30mar7:00 PMMan On Man7:00 PM Buy Tickets

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Joey Holman (HOLMAN) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen, CRICKETS, Nastie Band)

xBk Presents: Man On Man Wednesday, March 30, 2022 ADVANCE: $13 // DOS: $15 DOORS: 7:00PM // SHOW: 8PM

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(Wednesday) 7:00 PM

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Two bodies dancing hot in the New York City winter before being pushed inside for the rest of 2020. Two hearts that, in the span of 6 months, faced the loss of both of their mothers, the matriarchs that bore them to this planet full of wonder. They held on tight to the beauty of living, together. With this shared language and the confines of quarantine they lost and loved even harder. Battling packed boxes and lost jobs, the two celebrated their tragic journey with broad shoulders forcing power chords and the harmonized chants of utter release. They huddled together for the future while leaking their hearts into pop melodies that collide effortlessly with both a shared melancholy and simultaneous hope. MAN ON MAN (also M.O.M.) is a new gay lover band made up of Joey Holman (HOLMAN) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen, CRICKETS, Nastie Band). Their upcoming self-titled record, MAN ON MAN, is infused with indie-rock distortion and soaked in gay pop confidence while still maintaining the acerbic and pure sense of humor they both share. M.O.M.‘s music videos take their magical collaboration to another level with otherworldly cinematographic dimension, and of course, the subversive playfulness of two gay lovers unmistakably flirting with their audience and each other. Upon the release of their debut single, “Daddy”, their video (chock full of the pair dancing seductively in their white briefs) was removed from YouTube for violating their “sex and nudity policy.” At this moment, the band solidified their political visibility as queer artists who are not ok with being silenced or removed from history because of their age or size. Bottum told Rolling Stone, “There’s enough representation in the gay community of young, hairless pretty men.” Roddy and Joey’s love for each other and their own bodies, histories, and truths are what make this project so tender and lovable. MAN ON MAN’s music transcends both genre or decade, creating a timeless appeal for so many kinds of listening. The varied influences and textures of the record are a meditation on the myriad of emotions of lockdown, as well as this particular moment in their own lives, collectively and independently. The shoegaze whirlpools of “Stohner” transition into the square wave synths of “1983” with ease, while tracks like “It’s So Fun (To Be Gay)” open us up to a new type of queer anthem for the 2020s. It is hard not to be captivated with MAN ON MAN’s story, as they pass through pandemic lockdowns in a rented pickup truck. Through hotels, rest stops, mountaintops, desert mirages, back roads, beaches, and hospital rooms, the layering of space and time allows us to grasp onto each moment individually and together as a whole. When we fall into their world (which was self-produced with mix support by Grammy-award winning producer Carlos de la Garza [M83, Paramore, Jimmy Eat World] and Mike Vernon Davis [Foxing, Great Grandpa]), we witness MAN ON MAN’s deep intensity of falling in love while mourning, and the epic collaboration of two lovers that traverse the map of a COVID road trip. MAN ON MAN is more than a band, it is a partnership of two beautiful queers who are committed to creating a language that is both musical and visual, and that transcends what we know of gay music at exactly the cultural moment we need them. As individuals, lovers, sons, community pillars, and human beings, M.O.M. are a womb to be reckoned with.

sat02apr7:00 PMFlobots w/ Bonelag7:00 PM Buy Tickets

thu14apr7:00 PMJon Wayne and the Pain w/ Some Friends7:00 PM Buy Tickets

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xBk Presents:

Jon Wayne and the Pain w/ Some Friends

Thursday, April 14th, 2022 ADVANCE: $10 // DOS: $13 DOORS: 7:00PM // SHOW: 8PM

Time

(Thursday) 7:00 PM

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About Jon Wayne and the Pain:

The four-piece Twin-Cities, Minnesota rockers, Jon Wayne and The Pain (aka JWP) are best known for innovating acoustic-electronic dub, heightened with conscious lyrics and catchy riddims. The quartet has been mesmerizing fans for a decade, with their signature JWP cosmic-blend of electronic beats, fused with uplifting roots-driven beats and a hearty dash of conscious lyricism.

The band has carved a sizable niche for itself in the electronic and reggae-rock genres by their coast-to-coast road-warrior tours, playing more than one hundred and thirty shows per year and have blazed two sold-out shows at the Cabooze, filled with 1,000 attendees and recently had more than 800 at the famed First Avenue in Minneapolis for their CD Release Party. The band has performed on some of the nations most renowned music and art festivals, as Electric Forest, Summer Camp, Cali Roots, Shangri-la and Wakarusa to name a few.

JWP incorporates musical ingredients, filled with vibrant acoustic-electronic riffs, coupled with a delicate splash of roots-reggae and socially conscious lyricism. Over the years, the band has developed a sort of “Deadhead” Midwest following, as a proven mainstay in the ever-evolving music and festival scene.

On February 24, 2017, Jon Wayne and the Pain released their fourth full-length album, Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe, which placed #7 on the iTunes Reggae Album charts and #14 on the Billboard Reggae Album charts.

fri15apr7:00 PMZap Tura w/ special guest Skyscraper [RESCHEDULED]A multi-sensory psych-pop experience7:00 PM CST Buy Tickets

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PLEASE NOTE THIS SHOW HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO APRIL 15. ALL TICKETS PURCHASED PREVIOUSLY WILL BE HONORED ON THE NEW DATE. IF YOU’RE UNABLE TO MAKE THE NEW SHOW DATE PLEASE REQUEST A REFUND VIA YOUR TICKET PURCHASE CONFIRMATION AND WE’LL BE HAPPY TO ACCOMMODATE.

xBk Presents: Zap Tura w/ special guest Skyscraper April 15th, 2022 ADVANCE: $10 // DOS: $13 DOORS: 7:00PM // SHOW: 8PM

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(Friday) 7:00 PM CST

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xBk

1159 24th St

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Zap Tura Zap Tura is the celestial psych-pop project of Des Moines-based multi-instrumentalist Andrew Jones. Between the bleary-eyed bedroom-pop of their debut, “Juxtaprose,” and the thick, congregational production of their newest album, “Adaptasia,” the project focuses on intricately crafted walls of intertwining, instrumental textures and found-sound experiments. Those details are pulled from organic sources like field recordings, studio sounds, and snippets from smartphone videos. Together they create a rich body of sound piercing through the layers with the kind of personal details hidden in the timestamps and location codes of digitally-captured memories. Throughout their first two albums, the band has utilized a rotating lineup ranging from solo iterations to full band interpretations of their densely-layered album offerings. With the release of “Adaptasia”, the band has translated the album into a full multimedia and inter-sensory experience. Their live set incorporates audio-synced kaleidoscope overlays, expanding and contracting to the album’s swerving directions and dynamic ranges. From cassette like “Juxtaprose”, to record like “Adaptasia,” or headphones on your bedroom floor to the booming PA system from some cavernous venue, the music itself transforms depending on its context. It’s adaptable, as the title of their newest album suggests, with different details unfurling from the sonic tapestry with each repeated listen. *** Skyscraper is the sound collage and solo recording project of Warm Gospel music label purveyor, Trey Reis. From the frenetic sample constructions of his early releases to the decaying minimalism of later experiments, Skyscraper transforms a century worth of natural sounds and recorded music into ambient soundscapes exploring the sonic depths of fidelity.

thu12may7:00 PMWidowspeak7:00 PM Buy Tickets

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On Sale Friday, January 7th @ 9am!

xBk Presents: Widowspeak May 12, 2022 ADVANCE: $13// DOS: $15 DOORS: 7PM // SHOW: 8PM

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(Thursday) 7:00 PM

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Widowspeak

“The stone that’s buried: what the fruit is for.”

So goes the title track from Plum, Widowspeak’s forthcoming fifth album. The line serves as an apt analogy for the record itself: the self-aware sweetness that the band employs to deliver the seed of a harder, sharper idea. Singer Molly Hamilton coats wry observations in a voice as honeyed as the sun-ripened fruit, and Widowspeak have always made a bitter pill much easier to swallow. From its opening strum, there’s a palpable warmth and familiarity to the music even as it hints at darker truths below the surface, questions about inherent worth. What value and meaning do we assign ourselves, our time, and how do we spend it?

With Plum, the songwriting partnership rooted in the creative rapport between Molly Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas continues to expand on shared visions, delving deeper into what was always there: dusty guitars, ear-worm melodies, warm expansive arrangements. Each entry to their catalog has marked a subtle reimagining of Widowspeak’s sound, though perennial points of reference remain the same: 90’s dream pop, 60’s psych rock, a certain unshakeable Pacific-Northwestness. Speaking to the timeless feeling of each, the albums continue to be discovered well beyond their respective PR cycles, made beloved by new listeners through word of mouth.

More akin to the sunny spaciousness of All Yours (2015) than the darker, denser Expect the Best (2017), Plum carries a sense of unhurried self-awareness. It feels comfortable and lived-in: humble in structure, heavy on mood. Perhaps that came taking time off from the touring grind, instead working full-time jobs and settling into the rhythm of daily life in a small upstate New York town. Plum was recorded over a handful of weekends last winter by Sam Evian (Cass McCombs, Kazu Makino, Hannah Cohen) at his Flying Cloud studio in the Catskills, and was mixed by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding, Perfume Genius). In addition to Hamilton (vocals, guitar) and Thomas (guitars, bass, synth), it features instrumental contributions by Andy Weaver (drums), Michael Hess (piano), and Sam himself (bass, synth). Plum nestles into the band’s canon like it was always there, but with new textures coming to the fore, like the polyrhythmic pulse of “Amy” and “The Good Ones”, or the watery, Terry Riley-influenced track “Jeanie”

The broader themes that run through Plum are almost eerily prescient for the time of its release, written and recorded in the eve of a global pandemic. Hamilton couldn’t have predicted the relevancy of mesmerizing track “Breadwinner”, with its central analogy of bread as time as money, or the song’s yearning pleas to a partner who’s “always bringing their work home”. And on “Even True Love”, Hamilton acknowledges the imminent loss of those closest to us: “In the deepest wells, in the shallow sick/I can see you shaking in the great unknown/Will you learn to live with what you chose?/Even true love, you can’t take it with you”. They’re songs for our time to be sure, but Plum reckons with existential pain that was always there, that will endure well beyond social distancing and into our collective new reality.

Still, Plum isn’t weighed down by crushing angst. The approach is humble and frank, like a friend sharing intimacies. These are songs made to be listened to, enjoyed. “Money” is particularly hypnotic, built around a repeating, cyclical motif that serves as both skeleton and body. “Will you get back what you put in?” Hamilton asks over an insistent guitar riff. The line is delivered with a knowingness that transcends its surface critiques of late-stage capitalism, asking both herself and the listener whether this is, in fact, the world we want to live in. A world that increasingly sees monetization as the greatest goal, even at such great expense to ourselves, and especially our future. What does it mean to contribute? And what is the cost of “selling out”?

Hamilton cites a crisis of meaning as being central to the origins of Plum. “I didn’t want to write for a long time; I didn’t even really want to listen. I stopped believing in ‘music as a career’ and the distorted idea of what it had become in my mind: building and projecting a personality, promoting it, selling it. Losing that sense of purpose… it made me question my own value, usefulness.” She looked methodically for ways to reframe those thoughts about overconsumption, and found inspiration in the writings of MFK Fisher, in the Danish film “Babette’s Feast” and David Byrne’s “True Stories”, and in YouTube playlists of pop songs remixed to sound like they’re being played in abandoned malls. She also found a book about wabi-sabi principles by Leonard Koren (who founded WET magazine): “So much of it is centered around allowing things to be what they are, and just noticing. I tried to notice more, and I think those observations became the songs.”

Plum is an album that navigates the spaces between the lesser emotions of modern life. From the creeping dread that “things are getting worse” to the resigned but sanguine recognition that “no one is old, nothing is young,” Hamilton’s lyrics speak to the unique turmoil of anyone who creates as their work, who must somehow survive off such “fruits of their labor.” With its release, Widowspeak have brought something into the world that seems to know its own worth, even as it wonders aloud about what is to come. Like the wabi-sabi tenant that lead to the song that became the album, all things are devolving to, or evolving from, nothingness.

“You’re a peach and I’m a plum.”

fri17jun6:00 PMCactus Blossoms6:00 PM Buy Tickets

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First Fleet Concerts Presents: The Cactus Blossoms Doors: 6:00 PM Show: 7:00 PM All Ages $20 (General Admission)

Time

(Friday) 6:00 PM

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About The Cactus Blossoms

Blood Harmony. Whether it’s The Beach Boys, Bee Gees or First Aid Kit, that sibling vocal blend is the secret sauce in some of the most spine-tingling moments in popular music. The Cactus Blossoms – Minneapolis-based brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey – offer compelling evidence that this tradition is alive and well, with a deceptively unadorned musical approach that offers “creative turns of phrase, gorgeous harmonies, and an ageless sound” (NPR All Things Considered), not to mention spine tingles aplenty. Their 2016 debut You’re Dreaming, a stunning and transporting collection of original songs, earned high praise from Rolling Stone and Vice Noisey, tour stints with Kacey Musgraves and Lucius, and a perfectly cast performance on the third season of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. Now their unlikely rise continues with new album Easy Way, to be released on their own label Walkie Talkie Records.

While many bands would have been content to stick with the winning formula of their debut, the Blossoms refused to repeat themselves. If You’re Dreaming celebrated their vintage country and rock influences, Easy Way reveals a songwriting style that has changed, evolved, and gotten more modern. Dan Auerbach, another artist who knows from bedrock influences, co-wrote two songs on the album. “Dan’s love for songwriting was inspiring, just the kick in the pants we needed to start writing again after being on the road,” says Page.

The brothers’ decision to produce the new album themselves no doubt led to the new sound. “We wanted the freedom to experiment with our own weird ideas,” says Jack, “We used to joke that the working title album should be Expensive Demos.” As they crisscrossed the nation on tour, the brothers would stop through Alex Hall’s Reliable Recorders studio in Chicago to chase the new sound they were after. The result joins together what would otherwise be distant corners of the American songbook. Both the traditional twang of Chicago pedal steel guitarist Joel Paterson (Devil in a Woodpile, The Western Elstons) and the primal wail of free jazz saxophonist Michael Lewis (Bon Iver, Andrew Bird) are at home on the album. Just as they did with their debut, the brothers found a voice all their own.

sun24jul6:00 PMDaniel Champagne6:00 PM Buy Tickets

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Presented By First Fleet Concerts

Grady Spencer & The Work

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