Pert Near Sandstone

“Our waiting days are finally over,” the title song decries, echoing the sentiment of a community recently pent up and beyond longing. It’s a strikingly different world than when Pert Near Sandstone first began near the sandstone river bluffs of St Paul. The former latchkey kids who grew up together a few Mississippi miles upstream have been performing and recording this past year in earnest, culminating in their eighth studio album.

Waiting Days has all the merit of maturity and the strengths of its four songwriters, offering responses to each other’s compositions through a long camaraderie. After almost twenty years together, their bond has grown to reflect that of a band of brothers. By contrast to tiktoks, reels, and tweets, this album was formed from the wilderness and carved from the heartwood. The band would say their music and sound come about organically, but under the tall oak trees of the Twin Cities, those wooden instruments may have been antennas drawn to the marrow, like a divination wand used to scratch an itch or soothe a wound, they tapped into this latest collection of songs.

As longtime stewards of the modern stringband revival, Pert Near’s songcraft is informed by the American folk tradition in a delivery of acoustic instrumentation. Their studio efforts have gradually strayed from the reliquary of common string band selections. Instead, Pert Near offers another full album of original songs that meditates on this exact present, rich with context and reference. There are songs that reach into a field that isn't always aglow with sunlight, while finding beauty in the tenderness of relationships. There are traveling songs sung by a band that has hit the pavement hard over their time, simultaneously creating a soundtrack for those all night drives that music festival devotees well know.

This isn’t music reaching for the banality of pop hits - this is fresh air for blades of new grass to grow in. At times there is an almost symphonic string section that lifts the melody, while other times the simplicity of banjo and pedal steel indeed helps us believe the genuine intentions of Pert Near Sandstone’s creative resolve. The interplay of mandolin and fiddle carry much of the music across the songs, but it’s the mixture of guest instrumentalists that gives this album a unique tapestry of sounds and texture, opening a deeper space that has become standard in production for Pert Near Sandstone projects. Trampled By Turtles’ fiddler and original Pert Near member, Ryan Young, recorded and mixed the album, along with his fiddle and other accouterments used to bolster the energy of the songs. The intimacy of collaboration is at the heart of this new project, after all, which spanned several of the harshest weeks of a midwestern winter.

Anyone that knows this band is aware of their humor and levity, and that charm is never far from the surface. It is a central component of their expression and shared experience. The connectedness to community is at the core of Pert Near’s music and philosophy as these songs shine a light upon. We are all here together. As the title track declares, “...I want to take you with me when I go.” Let’s get ready. Now is our time. The waiting days are over.

Past Shows


Feb
24
th
2024
Turf Club
Feb
24
th
2024
Turf Club

Pert Near Sandstone

Pert Near Sandstone’s Winter String Band Gathering

★ Local Show ★
with Dead Horses and Danny Frank & The Smoky Gold
Feb
23
rd
2024
Turf Club
Feb
23
rd
2024
Turf Club

Pert Near Sandstone

Pert Near Sandstone’s Winter String Band Gathering

★ Local Show ★
with Sicard Hollow and Said In Stone
Dec
2
nd
2023
First Avenue
Dec
2
nd
2023
First Avenue

Pert Near Sandstone

★ Local Show ★
with Them Coulee Boys and Humbird
Dec
2
nd
2022
First Avenue
Dec
2
nd
2022
First Avenue
Oct
16
th
2021
First Avenue
Oct
16
th
2021
First Avenue

Pert Near Sandstone

with Mae Simpson and Brotherhood of Birds
Nov
16
th
2019
Mainroom
Nov
16
th
2019
Mainroom
Jan
20
th
2019
Fine Line
Jan
20
th
2019
Fine Line

Trampled by Turtles

with Pert Near Sandstone
Nov
10
th
2018
Mainroom
Nov
10
th
2018
Mainroom

Pert Near Sandstone

with Kind Country and The Lowest Pair
Oct
21
st
2017
Mainroom
Oct
21
st
2017
Mainroom

Pert Near Sandstone

with The Last Revel, Henhouse Prowlers and Old Salt Union
Oct
28
th
2016
Mainroom
Oct
28
th
2016
Mainroom
Oct
24
th
2015
Mainroom
Oct
24
th
2015
Mainroom

Pert Near Sandstone

with SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD and Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank
Oct
24
th
2014
Mainroom
Oct
24
th
2014
Mainroom

Pert Near Sandstone

with The Big Wu and Spider John Koerner
Aug
11
th
2013
Somerset Amphitheater
Aug
11
th
2013
Somerset Amphitheater

SUMMER SET Music & Camping Festival

with Passion Pit, Girl Talk, BIG GIGANTIC and more!
Aug
10
th
2013
Somerset Amphitheater
Aug
10
th
2013
Somerset Amphitheater

SUMMER SET Music & Camping Festival

with Passion Pit, Girl Talk, BIG GIGANTIC and more!
Aug
9
th
2013
Somerset Amphitheater
Aug
9
th
2013
Somerset Amphitheater

SUMMER SET Music & Camping Festival

with Passion Pit, Girl Talk, BIG GIGANTIC and more!
Mar
29
th
2013
Mainroom
Mar
29
th
2013
Mainroom

Pert Near Sandstone

PERT NEAR SANDSTONE 7” Release Party
with Cornmeal and The Ragbirds
Nov
9
th
2012
Mainroom
Nov
9
th
2012
Mainroom

Pert Near Sandstone

with Holy Ghost Tent Revival and Farewell Milwaukee
Aug
18
th
2012
Cabooze Outdoor Plaza
Apr
6
th
2012
Mainroom
Apr
6
th
2012
Mainroom

Pert Near Sandstone

with Elephant Revival and Charlie Parr

More Shows

Jul
9
th
Fine Line

mekons

with Jake La Botz
May
22
nd
First Avenue

Napalm Death and Melvins

with Hard-Ons (with Jerry A) and Dark Sky Burial
Jun
15
th
7th St Entry

Samantha Crain

May
2
nd
Amsterdam Bar & Hall

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah