TUESDAY: THE WILD FEATHERS
Their sound melds the five unique voices of Ricky Young, Joel King, Taylor Burns and Preston Wimberly, and Ben Dumas, taking inspiration from across the musical spectrum – country, blues, folk and rock – and spinning it into a roaring web of warm, cosmic melodies with vintage roots and modern tones. The Wild Feathers are a rock band that feels impossibly fresh with the air of having been here all along. […] While some of their influences come from deep in the 60’s and 70’s, they’re still thoroughly modern, fusing and evolving their pedal steel and Laurel Canyon harmonies rather than regurgitating and repackaging what’s already in existence. So it’s no surprise that they’re more likely to simply call themselves American than Americana. “We like folk music, but we’re going to have a distortion pedal on when we do it,” laughs Preston. [REFERENCE LINK]
Recommended If You Like:
The Lone Bellow, Lucius, Grace Potter, ZZ Ward, Farewell Milwaukee
WEDNESDAY: JUSTIN WILLMAN “FULL OF IT” featuring Bushwalla
Justin Willman is an American magician, actor, comedian, and TV personality. The Guardian dubbed him as “some kind of variety Voltron with a comic flair that marks him out as the leader of the pack”. He’s a regular guest on The Tonight Show and Ellen, and he hosts the shows Cupcake Wars on the Food Network and Win, Lose or Draw on the Disney Channel. He also tours regularly with a magic/comedy live show that Time Out says, “has to be seen to be disbelieved.”
Recommended If You Like:
Live magic, stand-up comedy, The Nerdist, Cupcake Wars, David Blaine
THURSDAY: WAR POETS, AVENUE ARMY, and PATRICK LOONAN
War Poets’ first full length recording Dulce et Decorum Est shows off a collective effort of five veterans of the Minnesota pop/rock scene running the gamut from country rockers to piano ballads with lyrics mainly written by Rex Haberman who shares songwriting duties with bandmates Matt Kirkwold and Jenny Case. Instead of narrowing down the playing field to one cohesive album, it is a clean divide between kicking off rockers on the first CD with the crackle of plugging in guitars and blasting off with the Replacements-esque “Don’t Look Back” and first single “Close Enough” with a literary rocker meets Friends reruns groove.[Music News Nashville]
Avenue Army is a four piece modern rock band from Saint Paul, MN that has been hitting the Minneapolis/Saint Paul music scene hard for the last three years. The band was formed in July of 2009, and prides themselves for their original works which are comprised of catchy lyrical melodies, hard hitting drums, harmonies, and gritty guitars. Avenue Army has a likeable radio friendly sound, and has high hopes to make it to the top. The members are all professional musicians, who have been in the industry for years and are extremely passionate about making music in all facets. [Revolution 360]
Recommended If You Like:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Motion City Soundtrack, The Get Up Kids
FRIDAY: THE REGENERATORS
“Oh, you guys are.. party rock. You like people to drink beer and have fun at your shows..”, a wasted wannabe singer declared at the end of his short but hilarious audition for the band. Thus was born The Regenerators, a Saint Paul, MN all-star cast of rock ‘n’ rollers hell bent on bringing out their brand of multi-generational shame based music. Guitarists Eric Berg (aka Slee-Z-E) and Brad Johnson (aka Dirty Dick) both being long time friends had been looking to form a band with all the punch of metal and the fun of punk.
Recommended If You Like:
Misfits, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Discharge, Motorhead, The Hellacopters
SATURDAY: WEB OF SUNSETS Album Release Show
Minneapolis-based folk trio Web of Sunsets formed in 2012 as an outlet for Sara Bischoff, Sarah Nienaber and Chris Rose to explore their self-described “acid country” tendencies as a separate venture from their involvement in local acts Robust Worlds and Heavy Deeds, among others. Their primarily acoustic sound is steeped in a haze of heady nostalgia, heightened by cozy reverb and the absence of percussion. The deliciously sleepy, spacious atmosphere of the song will receive a warm welcome from listeners entranced by the gentle psychedelia of Mazzy Star or Widowspeak’s sun-drenched folk fuzz. [The Line of Best Fit]
Recommended If You Like:
Widowspeak, Hope Sandoval “day-drinking on a Southern porch“, Marianne Faithfull, lo-fi Mazzy Star
SUNDAY: SAN FERMIN with Son Lux
Too often, singers in bands are presumed to be auteurs. But giving voice to a vision isn’t synonymous with authorhood, as San Fermin demonstrates: The group is the brainchild of classically trained Brooklyn pianist and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone, who recruited three terrific singers (Lucius’ Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, plus deep-voiced Allen Tate) to sing his ornate, frequently orchestral chamber-pop songs. At 55 minutes, San Fermin’s debut soars and surprises throughout, as it unleashes moments that can sound delicate, deadpan, exquisite and muscular — sometimes all at once. [NPR Music’s 50 Favorite Albums Of 2013]
Recommended If You Like:
Magnetic Fields, The Head and the Heart, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, Dirty Projectors
MONDAY: THE BELLE GAME
Vancouver dark-pop quintet the Belle Game introduce “River” as a fairly standard and agreeable piece of indie rock, with chalky guitars that could be taken from the past decade of Walkmen records, the anachronistic hollowed-out reverb and waltz-time balladry of Cults, the plainspoken longing of Best Coast. The band sounds like they’re trying to sneak up on you, or at least blend in enough to be sync-able. Frontwoman Andrea Lo, however is not trying to sneak up on you, nor is she trying to blend in. “River” is her showcase, as it should be; her voice is an expansive, powerful instrument that demands to be noticed, driving the melody of “River” and turning a simple song of simple sentiments into showstopping, extroverted piece of musical theater. [Pitchfork, Best New Track]
Recommended If You Like:
Stars, Said The Whale, Majical Cloudz, Pure Bathing Culture, Feist, HAIM
