Sunshine Deity, Evergreen, and Jack & Jolene
Friday, July 11 // Doors at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15-$20 Artist Supporter Sunshine Deity is based out of Missoula, MT. The band has Connor Racicot on keys, Llwyn Clark-Gaynor on drums, Evan Nesbitt on bass, Cameron Kinney on guitar, Cade Chastain on alto sax, Sean Stineford on trombone and Jolene Green on vocals/tenor sax. The band was started by its frontwoman, Jolene, and plays her original music which is a blend of jazz, low-fi, soul, hip hop, and metal. The band members are all former or current top music students at the University of Montana and use their formal training to create a sound that is new, unique, and informed. Starting as a jazz combo through the University of Montana, the members of Evergreen decided they all liked each other’s company and wanted to keep playing music together. Rooted in jazz, the band is not afraid to dive into other territory, such as funk, hip hop, and fusion. Groove and improvisation is the name of the game, and Evergreen is here to have a good time playing. Jack & Jolene are a house music duo based out of NW Montana. They use their opposing musical backgrounds to create groovy, genre defying dance music and play bangin’ live shows. Jack & Jolene are passionate about creating positive change. Their project aims to dismantle the corporations that promote community division and replace them with togetherness, hope, and positivity. Armed with soul, passion, groove, and style, Jack & Jolene are bringing their ambitions everywhere.
Moon Hooch
Thursday, October 3 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 8 PM // $15 Advance // $18 Day of Show If any band is a poster child for turning the power of positive thoughts and intentions into reality, it’s the explosive horn-and-percussion trio MOON HOOCH In just a few short years, the group— Wilbur, fellow horn player Wenzl McGowen—has gone from playing on New York City subway platforms to touring with the likes of Beats Antique, They Might Be Giants, and Lotus, as well as selling out their own headline shows in major venues around the country. Though the band—whose members initially met as students at the New School—turned heads in the music industry as relative unknowns with a charismatic, unconventional sound (they play with unique tonguing techniques and utilize found objects like traffic cones attached to the bells of their horns to manipulate tone, for instance), they were already a familiar and beloved sight to strangers in New York, who would react with such joy and fervor to their impromptu subway platform sets that the NYPD had to ban them from locations that couldn’t handle the crowds. NY Mag once referred to their sound as “Jay Gatsby on ecstasy,” while the NY Post fell for their “catchy melodic hooks and funky rhythms,” saying they had “the power to make you secretly wish that the short [subway] wait becomes an indefinite delay.” From collaborating with iconic artists such as Matisyahu and Too Close To Touch, to well-known electronic artists such as Autograf, Flamingosis, Bass Physics, Maddy O’ Neal, and many more – COFRESI continues to spread his creative wings to bring new and inspiring sounds to his fans and the world. In the studio, Cofresi creates a provocative sound by fusing elements of bass music, dance music, worldly trap, soul, DnB, and a little nostalgia here and there. His live sets are full of energy and showcase his captivating ability to incorporate multidimensional percussion and Ableton into multi-genre EDM. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Down North w/ Trans Future
Saturday, July 2 // Doors at 7 PM // 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket “Dude sings like James Brown… bass is less slap and more groove.” – The Stranger “A sound that’s downright impossible to resist.” – Seattle Weekly ‘No Retreat, No Return, No Surrender.’ – The Down North Motto There are some performers who come to music later in life. Then, there are folks who you can just tell were voracious students and consumers of music since before they could talk. Seattle / Los Angeles / North Carolina based quartet Down North fall squarely into the latter group. Trying to pin genre tags onto their unique brand of psych-infused punk soul is an exercise in futility. These creatives pick and choose just-right bits and flavors drawn from the whole of modern western music like painters with unlimited palates. Front man Anthony Briscoe, bassist Brandon Storms, guitarist Nick Quiller, and drummer Conrad Real (who also plays with Ayron Jones and icons Digable Planets) were on a roll following the release of the No Retreat Volume 1 EP (2018). The record had been well received by the press, and extensive touring plans were in place. Then, the global pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt. When other artists might have succumbed to despair, Down North strives to live their motto: No Retreat, No Return, No Surrender. “We tried to see it as an opportunity,” explains Briscoe. “We’ve been known as a great live band. This time we really wanted to show that we could capture that magic in our recorded music.” The music that Down North has laid to tape on No Restraint Volume 2 is driving, crisply executed, and tight as all get out. It is funky – but it would be wrong to call it funk. Strong pop melodicism anchors searing punk energy. Brash technical virtuosity nods to Alternative rock. Funky gospel metal, maybe? Regardless of what you call it, this record exudes its creators fierce focus and determination. It is powerful, defiantly celebratory, and downright captivating. No Retreat, No Return, No Surrender indeed. Self-described as New Wave Soul and Roll, Trans Future’s sound reflects the eclectic influences that warrant the inventive term, but a closer listen reveals their music is as much about what’s not there as what is. Each musician’s part is salient and distinct, but leaves space for the musical conversation to unfold. While space can be what makes things fall apart, the space TF creates is the architectural element that holds their music so tightly together. Space seems to come naturally to a band who formed in early 2020, masked and distanced, in the height of the pandemic. Their new album, Scream on the Inside, is out now! For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
