On Monday, October 7th, we escaped the ever-more-frigid midwestern air to enjoy some of the oughts’ most incredible emo tracks. The Early November was performing at The Rino in North Kansas City, MO, and — as big-time fans for over a decade — you bet we were there, surrounded by a room full of people who all had the same nostalgia while singing. In support was Have Mercy. Highlights below.
Keep up with The Early November here.
K.Flay made her mark last night in Nashville, singing and rapping triumphantly atop a mountain of cascading platforms that towered over the crowd at Marathon Music Works during the last stop of her Solutions tour. She knows her audience well, and the set list shows that: she opened with 3 tracks from her new album, Solutions (“Not In California,” “Bad Vibes,” and “This Baby Don’t Cry”). She then proceeded to play the album in its entirety throughout the show, and ended with a fan favorite–and her most popular song to date–Grammy-nominated “Blood In The Cut.” K.Flay belongs on the stage, and you can tell from her live performances that she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Keep up with K. Flay here.
Next Tuesday, October 8th, join us at the intimate Folly Theater in Kansas City as we welcome The Bacon Brothers on their latest tour, The Shaky Ground Tour. The Philadelphia-based genre-bending collective — comprised of Michael Bacon, Kevin Bacon, Paul Guzzone, Tim Quick, Frank Vilardi, and Joe Mennonna — has been lending their talent to the advancing Americana scene for decades. Though the two namesakes of the act have been making music together for most of their lives, they began to record music with this project in 1995.
So, if you haven’t heard of them yet, then your head is officially under a rock.
The perfect news in all of this? They have been touring pretty heavily as of late and — though originally they were only to come as close as Des Moines to the actual heart of America — added us to the tour a little later in the game, which made our hearts absolutely swoon.
Their latest single “Play!” that was released earlier this summer received critical acclaim and served as the backdrop to hot summer nights at the tail end of our warm months. Just enough of a boogie flare wraps itself in a warm embrace around such a beautiful chord progression, and we’re just so excited to see this one performed live.
Take an evening off and visit these Grammy-nominated musicians on Tuesday evening, October 8th. Tickets are available here.
See you on Tuesday! In the meantime, keep up with the brothers here!
On Monday, September 30th, we were thrilled by the crowd packed into Kansas City’s recordBar to enjoy an evening of music by Noah Gundersen. Quite honestly, weeknights in Kansas City are difficult to draw fans out for, especially with our weather being so unpredictable. But the night was beautiful, and the music was absolutely enthralling.
Packed to the brim, there was an excitement in the air as we pushed through the doors on that beautiful autumn night. Couples in droves, though largely we noticed how wide Gundersen’s audience is, as there was no obvious demographic. Young, old(er), couples, single people rocking out, people in all types of outfits and moods. It was probably the most intense melting pot we have been a part of in a while, and it was thrilling.
As soon as the first chords of “Robin Williams” came from the speakers, the entire crowd was captivated. As you can view in some of the following photographs, the audience was respectful of the ambience of each song, making sure to slow down and engage on a different level with songs such as “Heavy Metals”, “Watermelon”, and “Bad Desire”. And we truly can’t blame them. Noah does an amazing job at making each person feel as though they are the only one in the room, both with the emotion in his vocals, his intense gazes into the audience, and his inventive and beautiful musicianship. But he didn’t stop there, and the setup’s light display was actually mesmerizing as well. We can only imagine how intricate a show in a less intimate venue would be, and we can’t wait to see him come back through town.
Setlist
Robin Williams
Crystal Creek
Heavy Metals
Lose You
Watermelon
Out of Time
Older
Ledges
Jesus, Jesus
Annie
So What
Bad Desire
Send the Rain (To Everyone)
Wild Horses
Kamikaze (with Lemolo)
Lover
All My Friends
Keep up with Noah Gundersen here.
Chris Davidson started his music career as a jazz drummer. The New Yorker now taps into that discipline and experience with his project CHNNLL, an alternative rock four-piece with Davidson on vocals, keys and guitar. Named as a tribute to his father, CHNNLL is in the middle of a Midwest and east coast tour called Age of Outrage. On September 24, CHNNLL returned to Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines.
Dodie blissfully treated us to an evening of honest lyricism and simple–but far from boring–ukulele jams. It is a unique experience to see a YouTube star become an in-real-life star, and oftentimes the wonder and awe doesn’t translate the same past the computer screen, where there are no real-life jump cuts or do-overs. This is far from the case for Dodie, who captivated the flower-crowned and glitter-covered audience. She performed her hits (“She,” “Would You Be So Kind,” “Secret For The Mad”), as well as a charming a cappella cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” to celebrate being in Music City. Dodie managed to make Marathon Music Works feel as intimate as one of her YouTube videos, as if we were sitting there, watching her magic unfold in her bedroom.
Keep up with Dodie here.
On Thursday, August 29th, soulful songstress Beth Bombara opened for Kevin Galloway at Knuckleheads Saloon in east Kansas City. Floored by her vocals, she really warmed the crowd up for the evening. Highlight photos below!
Keep up with Beth Bombara here.
When Josh Ritter moves across the stage, he doesn’t run or walk. He bounces across it. With a smile on his face from start to finish, his bubbly attitude is contagious. Ritter is also an expert storyteller, in both his masterfully crafted lyrics and his discussions with he crowd between songs. His set list included new and old favorites, including “The Curse,” “The Temptation of Adam,” and “Getting Ready to Get Down.” Ritter released his tenth studio album in April of this year.
Keep up with Josh Ritter here.
August 16th was a gorgeous evening at Starlight Theatre. The rain had died off, the temperature cooled down slightly, and Savannah Conley took the stage as the last of a few drops of rain came down. She impressed with the simplicity of her arrangements, the range of her voice. We grabbed a few photos, and can’t wait to see her again!
Keep up with Savannah Conley here.
