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Listings are in the opposite order of appearance: headliner is listed at the top, next is the support band(s), and the last band listed is the opener.


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Thursday September 19 2019
 8:30PM doors -- music at 9:00PM
 
•••  ALL AGES
$12 in advance / $14 at the door
Night Moves    
www.nightmovesmpls.com/
 Space Rock Disco Pop Sludge
The Artisanals      
www.theartisanals.net/
 americana rock
An Intimate Evening with Michael Shaw
www.aiewms.com/
 Alternative/Indie



Night Moves  
-from Minneapolis, MN

-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.”



The Artisanals  
Johnny Delaware
Clay Houle
Eric Mixon
Nick Recio
Ian Klin
-from Charleston, SC

-Somewhere on a dusty road or a well traveled interstate, right at this very moment, a rock n’ roll band is pounding the rock. They’re probably wearing the same clothes they had on yesterday, and reminiscing about last night’s gig. Inspired by a guitar lick that cuts to the bone or a melody that lingers on refrain, this band is following a path forged by countless other musicians who’ve lived and died in dive bars or ‘made it’ with their posters taped to bedroom walls. What makes this band of brothers any different? This band is The Artisanals.

Johnny Delaware grew up in a small South Dakota town surrounded by cornfields and dirt roads. For 19 years, he lived in a wide-eyed perspective baptized in the setting of a John Mellencamp song. In order to personally evolve and carry out his musical destiny, Delaware knew that the heartland wind would have to blow him around the country. Eventually, Delaware would move to Charleston, SC and team up with guitarist Clay Houle, and bassist Eric Mixon to form The Artisanals in late 2016. Within a year of forming, The Artisanals dropped their four-track debut EP, Literally, Anywhere, and promptly received critical acclaim from Huffington Post, Paste Magazine, Daytrotter, PopMatters.

Now, with drummer Nick Recio and keyboardist Ian Klin rounding out the group, The Artisanals are stirring national traction with their self-titled debut LP featuring a blend of 70s Heartland Rock and Alt-Americana. The Artisanals, released on AWAL on September 21, 2018, is the culmination of the collective’s years of unique individual experiences writing, recording, touring, and living life one day at a time. It’s also the product of being dedicated to life on the road and touring relentlessly despite the toll it took on the guys’ personal lives and relationships in their 20s (shout out to ex-girlfriend Robyn). “Inspiration is like an invisible ghost,” says Johnny Delaware. “It’s your friend, and it kind of takes you over. You’re a conduit for it. That’s what musicians are; these modern-day shamans that take inspiration and give it form through song. It’s a lot like magick.”

With sonic influences ranging from the heartland rock of Bruce Springsteen (“Angel 42”), and neo-psychedelia anthems of My Morning Jacket (“Pound The Rock”), to the dream-pop work of The Cars and The War On Drugs (“Drag”), The Artisanals 10-track LP showcases Delaware and Houle’s knack for writing hooks as well as their ear for quality production. The album utilizes everything from a gong, organ, piano, sitar, french horn, trombone, and koto, to a string section sourced from the nearby University of Iowa. Mastered by Howie Weinberg, (Spoon, Ryan Adams, Nirvana), there’s no filler on The Artisanals. From start to finish, this record is a straight banger. And The Artisanals are far from done here - with the summertime comes fresh inspiration as the single “Violet Light,” makes its way into the world on June 21. In follow-up to their breakout release, The Artisanals are breathing new life into the Heartland Rock genre with their driving new song, hitting the streets just in time for summer.

Praised by Rolling Stone as having been “built to preach the gospel of rock n’ roll,” The Artisanals hold iconic predecessors Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Jackson Browne close to their chest, while offering a refreshing vantage through their new single. Produced by Drew Vandenberg (Toro y Moi, of Montreal, Kishi Bashi), “Violet Light” invokes conflicting emotions of hope and longing and begs to be played through a car stereo while the sun sets in the rearview mirror. With an infectious hook and feel-good melody, “Violet Light” is the perfect summer playlist addition, and promises that whatever comes next from The Artisanals is sure to be nothing short of sensational.



An Intimate Evening with Michael Shaw
-from Mill Valley, CA
-Michael Shaw wants to spend some time with you—in a lush sonic pasture set amongst rolling hills of electric piano lit by soaring guitar and bright, layered vocals. Though a showman with the guitar for much of his musical career, Shaw cuts a more pensive figure behind the piano, showing great care for a stable of personal songs that reflect his life divided between his youth in Northern Ireland, a stint in London, and his recent years in Northern California. From his debut album This is it.—called “a pop-rock gem” by Guitar Player—to his latest effort, recorded on the Western coast of Norway, Shaw plays in the space between rugged coastal scapes and the soaring harmonies of endless starry skies. From the vintage pop inspiration of the Beatles, The Beach Boys, and ELO, to contemporary kinship with Andy Shauf, Tame Impala, and Rufus Wainwright, Shaw is forever true to timeless melody and universal emotion.

"Now You Know" An Intimate Evening With Michael Shaw from Ian Colon on Vimeo.