"it’s the type of music that blurs the line between past and present so thoroughly, and so deftly, that time feels irrelevant."—Paste magazine
Spirit Family Reunion is the leading edge of a through-line that links Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie to The Band and Neil Young to Gillian Welch—and you might hear songs by any or all of those mixed in with their like-minded originals. Raw and authentic, with uplifting group vocals and inspiring energy, the band is a hootenanny waiting to happen. They're opening for Levon Helm for two shows upstate in late March—but you can see them here now.
"Spirit Family Reunion has only been a band for three years, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to their songs. All dusty acoustic guitars, wailing fiddles and weeping accordions, with a woozy-yet-skintight rhythm section—and topped off with burr-edged vocals that sound like they’ve been soaked in a Mason jar for generations—it’s the type of music that blurs the line between past and present so thoroughly, and so deftly, that time feels irrelevant."— Paste magazine
Jus Post Bellum's music can be described as anything from folk/indie to historical fiction set to music. Bandleader Geoffrey Wilson began writing songs for what he envisioned to be a country-afrobeat band, but soon discovered that it was a difficult genre to do well. Ultimately he put down his saxophone, decided to learn to sing and play guitar and began anew. What came was Jus Post Bellum (Latin for Justice After War, if you're keeping track). The music is inspired by the American Civil War, many years living in the country of upstate New York and an unhealthy fascination with the muse in his mind, living in the woods, loving someone, losing them, dying and growing up again, and remaining attentive to the minutia and detail in the relationship between nature and man. The writing is reflective, poetic and often sad, yet somehow inspiring in its attentiveness to detail and richness of metaphor, while maintaining a clarity and directness in its narrative. Joining Wilson is Hannah Jensen on vocals, Zach Dunham on drums and percussion and Daniel Bieber on upright bass and vocals.
Special Guest Morgan O’Kane
Every so often, just when you think the well is dry and the tradition is dead, you are gratefully reminded that there is still water down there and that the tradition was only sleeping. Morgan O’Kane from Charlottesville, Virginia is one of those reminders. A virtuoso banjo player, shouter and activist now based in New York City, Morgan recalls two other transplanted legendary southern artists; Reverend Gary Davis and Aunt Molly Jackson. While Morgan O’kane clearly knows his way around the old tunes, he is more interested in creating his own. That’s how the tradition survives – new songs being created on old foundations. This ain’t no revival; this is a contemporary artist who knows where he comes from.
Tickets: $10