May 18: Polyrhythmics
The Abingdon Music Experience, a program of the town's tourism department, began in 2013. It organizes January Jams at Barter Theater, Abingdon Main Street Buskerfest in September and Thursday Night Jams from May through July.
Thursday Night Jam concerts are held at the Abingdon Market Pavilion, Abingdon, Va. A beer garden and food truck are available. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket and enjoy the show. The concerts are free. Opening acts perform at 6:30 and the main event takes the stage at 7 p.m.
Thursday Jams starts May 18 with a concert by the Polyrhythmics. Creating vivid instrumental imagery with complex rhythms and a precision that redefines the term funk for 21st-century audiences, the eight-piece Polyrhythmics are proving to be one of Seattle's finest exports. Using elements of afrobeat, funk, psych rock and world music, the musicianship and chemistry that Polyrhythmics exudes has earned the band nationwide recognition, and their original songwriting and analog album production has earned the dedication of music aficionados and vinyl collectors.
Aaron Lee Tasjan performs May 25 at 7 p.m. East Nashville-based musician Tasjan has always considered himself a songwriter first and foremost, writing his own off-kilter folk-inflected songs since he picked up his first acoustic as a teen guitar prodigy. Tasjan's songs are indebted to storytellers like John Prine, Tom Petty, Guy Clark, Steve Goodman, Arlo Guthrie and Todd Snider. They are imbued with wry wit, a sharp tongue and a lot of heart. Last year's self-released LP, "In The Blazes," received accolades from American Songwriter, Rolling Stone, Nashville Scene and NPR and suggested Tasjan was an artist to keep an eye on.
June 1 brings Jakubi to the stage at 7 p.m. Jakubi's flavor stems from a combination of jangly guitars, hip-hop beats and synth rhythms. Melding the sounds of a talk box and reggae-inspired guitar, the band's experimental songs get everyone dancing.
The Broadcast performs June 8 at 7 p.m. For Caitlin Krisko and her band The Broadcast, the story began in Greenwich Village and wound up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lead singer Krisko grew restless in the city that never sleeps and dropped everything to move to Asheville, N.C., in 2010. It was there she met guitarist Aaron Austin spending the next couple of years working as a songwriting duo.
Forlorn Strangers are on stage June 15 at 7 p.m. The band is comprised of five songwriters, each having their own distinct sounds and styles that blend into one voice. Their music is rooted in harmonies and flavored with guitars, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro and foot stomping percussion.
The Marcus King Band performs June 22 at 7 p.m. Marcus King Band touches upon everything from funky R&B to Southern soul and Americana. His band stacks the songs with blasts of swampy brass, a lock-step rhythm section and swirling organ.
Lindsay Lou and The Flatbellys close out June. They embody the soul of a good jam or late night pickin' session and have honed in on a sound that draws from soul, blues, folk, jazz and even a trace of that techno beat.
Eric Gales plays July 6 at 7 p.m. Gales is a blues-rock guitarist and vocalist from Memphis, Tennessee. His music is a fusion of hard rock, blues and funk. Gales has released nine studio albums so far, his latest being "Relentless."
Brent Cobb takes the stage July 13 at 7 p.m. Neither Southern rock nor mainstream country, his sound sits somewhere on the wide bandwidth that exists between the two.
July 20, the series concludes with Look Homeward at 7 p.m. 2015's Floyd Fest On The Rise Winner, Look Homeward pairs Appalachian drawls and picking of field recordings with the soulful tones of Atlantic beaches and boggy bayous.
The Abingdon Music Experience, a program of the town's tourism department, began in 2013. It organizes January Jams at Barter Theater, Abingdon Main Street Buskerfest in September and Thursday Night Jams from May through July.
Thursday Night Jam concerts are held at the Abingdon Market Pavilion, Abingdon, Va. A beer garden and food truck are available. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket and enjoy the show. The concerts are free. Opening acts perform at 6:30 and the main event takes the stage at 7 p.m.
Thursday Jams starts May 18 with a concert by the Polyrhythmics. Creating vivid instrumental imagery with complex rhythms and a precision that redefines the term funk for 21st-century audiences, the eight-piece Polyrhythmics are proving to be one of Seattle's finest exports. Using elements of afrobeat, funk, psych rock and world music, the musicianship and chemistry that Polyrhythmics exudes has earned the band nationwide recognition, and their original songwriting and analog album production has earned the dedication of music aficionados and vinyl collectors.
Aaron Lee Tasjan performs May 25 at 7 p.m. East Nashville-based musician Tasjan has always considered himself a songwriter first and foremost, writing his own off-kilter folk-inflected songs since he picked up his first acoustic as a teen guitar prodigy. Tasjan's songs are indebted to storytellers like John Prine, Tom Petty, Guy Clark, Steve Goodman, Arlo Guthrie and Todd Snider. They are imbued with wry wit, a sharp tongue and a lot of heart. Last year's self-released LP, "In The Blazes," received accolades from American Songwriter, Rolling Stone, Nashville Scene and NPR and suggested Tasjan was an artist to keep an eye on.
June 1 brings Jakubi to the stage at 7 p.m. Jakubi's flavor stems from a combination of jangly guitars, hip-hop beats and synth rhythms. Melding the sounds of a talk box and reggae-inspired guitar, the band's experimental songs get everyone dancing.
The Broadcast performs June 8 at 7 p.m. For Caitlin Krisko and her band The Broadcast, the story began in Greenwich Village and wound up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lead singer Krisko grew restless in the city that never sleeps and dropped everything to move to Asheville, N.C., in 2010. It was there she met guitarist Aaron Austin spending the next couple of years working as a songwriting duo.
Forlorn Strangers are on stage June 15 at 7 p.m. The band is comprised of five songwriters, each having their own distinct sounds and styles that blend into one voice. Their music is rooted in harmonies and flavored with guitars, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro and foot stomping percussion.
The Marcus King Band performs June 22 at 7 p.m. Marcus King Band touches upon everything from funky R&B to Southern soul and Americana. His band stacks the songs with blasts of swampy brass, a lock-step rhythm section and swirling organ.
Lindsay Lou and The Flatbellys close out June. They embody the soul of a good jam or late night pickin' session and have honed in on a sound that draws from soul, blues, folk, jazz and even a trace of that techno beat.
Eric Gales plays July 6 at 7 p.m. Gales is a blues-rock guitarist and vocalist from Memphis, Tennessee. His music is a fusion of hard rock, blues and funk. Gales has released nine studio albums so far, his latest being "Relentless."
Brent Cobb takes the stage July 13 at 7 p.m. Neither Southern rock nor mainstream country, his sound sits somewhere on the wide bandwidth that exists between the two.
July 20, the series concludes with Look Homeward at 7 p.m. 2015's Floyd Fest On The Rise Winner, Look Homeward pairs Appalachian drawls and picking of field recordings with the soulful tones of Atlantic beaches and boggy bayous.
