2009 Twilight Concert Series Lineup

July 09 Bon Iver | Jenny Lewis

BON IVER

Bon Iver (pronounced “bone eevare,” French for “good winter” and misspelled on purpose) is both a greeting and a sentiment. Justin Vernon moved to a remote cabin in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin at the onset of winter, surrounding himself with simple work, quiet, and space. For Emma, Forever Ago is the debut result of this isolated creative period. Bon Iver’s debut album landed on a number of “Best of 2008” year-end lists. In January of 2009, Bon Iver released an EP of old and new songs titled Blood Bank. The New York Times considers it “a piece of commentary, or a conceptual joke, or a subversion of rustic naturalism. Whatever the case, it’s wonderfully strange, and in that sense true to form.” Artist Website

JENNY LEWIS

Over this decade Jenny Lewis has shown multiple facets of her performing style. With Rilo Kiley, her rock band of the past 10 years, she transformed from a shy whispering singer to the authoritative singer / songwriter / frontwoman she is today. Drawn by nostalgia, Rabbit Fur Coat and Acid Tongue were released to universal acclaim. Says Lewis, “The idea was to go one hundred percent live, including the vocals…if it felt right, if the emotion was there, we kept it.” Artist Website

July 16 The Black Keys | Human Highway

THE BLACK KEYS

Rock and roll duo The Black Keys is praised by critics, fans, and musicians alike. Dan and Patrick still live in Akron, Ohio and Magic Potion, in addition to being a pure rock and roll record, serves as a raised glass to the band’s home town. As Dan says, “The idea was for people to be able to sit on a porch in Akron with a can of beer and blast the record through a boom box...people can depend on Pat and me to play music and be around for life. We have to–it’s the only job skill we have.” Artist Website

HUMAN HIGHWAY

Sharing their name with a 1982 comedy film starring Neil Young, the Ontario, Canada-based indie pop duo Human Highway formed in the early 2000s. Comprised of Nick Thorburn (frontman for the eclectic indie pop group Islands) and Jim Guthrie (formerly of Islands and Royal City), the band started while Guthrie was on tour with Islands, and Thorburn asked him for help with a song called My Beach. Their style is influenced by 1960s and 1970s AM radio pop music — Guthrie has cited The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and The Kinks as influences on the band's sound. Human Highway released their debut album, Moody Motorcycle, in 2008, showcasing the duo's whimsical, doo-wop-infused, folky sound. Artist Website

July 23 M. Ward | Land of Talk

M. WARD

With his seventh album, M. Ward secures his reputation as one of America’s distinctive talents. His last three albums, Transfiguration of Vincent, Transistor Radio and Post-War have struck a singular chord among music fans. His deft guitar picking, bar room piano, and voice like drizzled honey have also made him a huge favorite of music critics. M. Ward is renowned for his intricate production work, not only on his own releases but also on Jenny Lewis’ much-lauded Rabbit Fur Coat. Artist Website

LAND OF TALK

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Elizabeth Powell set about making an album that encompasses a great deal with very little. The result is a heartbreaking and fist pumping album for Land of Talk’s Some are Lakes. It is a beautiful continuation of the internal conversation Powell has been holding with herself since she began her musical career, more than a decade ago. As a sign of things to come, Some Are Lakes is inspiring and illustrates the simple truth that the simplest things are the hardest to make. Artist Website

July 30 Sonic Youth | Awesome Color

SONIC YOUTH

Sonic Youth is one of the great success stories of underground American rock in the ‘80s. They began their career by abandoning any pretense of traditional rock & roll conventions. Sonic Youth redefined what noise meant within rock & roll, inspired directly by hardcore punk, post-punk, and no wave. Their trio of independent late 1980s records—EVOL, Sister, Daydream Nation—became touchstones for a generation of indie rockers. Artist Website

AWESOME COLOR

Psych-garage-noise purveyors Awesome Color came together after Michigan skateboarder Michael Troutman (aka Michael Awesome) and Allison Busch (aka Allison Awesome) hooked up with fellow Great Lake State expat Derek Stanton (aka Derek Awesome) in Brooklyn, NY, in 2004. Tired of the same old, same old that was passing for NYC underground punk at the time, the trio set out to inject a little Detroit rock know-how into the tired scene. Succeeding marvelously at channeling the grit and free abandon of the Stooges and MC5 into a propulsive, riff-based live show, the group soon caught the ear of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore — who wasted no time snatching the band up for his Ecstatic Peace! label. Artist Website

August 6 Q-Tip | B.o.B.

Q-TIP

Longtime MC with hip-hop trio A Tribe Called Quest, rapper Q-Tip was born Jonathan. While in school, he co-founded A Tribe Called Quest with fellow students. Tribe’s debut single, “Description of a Fool,” appeared in the summer of 1989. With its fiercely intelligent, socially progressive lyrics and brilliant fusion of rap and jazz, the group emerged as one of the most popular and influential groups in hip-hop. Q-Tip mounted a solo career with the 1999 release of Amplified, and recorded The Renaissance in 2008. Artist Website

B.o.B.

At age 17, B.o.B. signed his first major-label record deal in a field of emerging rap artists from Atlanta. Born in North Carolina, Bobby Ray Simmons grew up on the east side of Atlanta. By the time he was 15, he had already formed a production duo called the Klinic before taking the solo artist path and signing with Atlantic. Several outlets and publications took notice of the Atlanta rapper, running “Artist to Watch” features and tagging him as the next Atlanta rap artist to hit the national scene. Artist Website

August 13 Toots and the Maytals | N.A.S.A.

TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS

Comprised of leader Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, Nathaniel “Jerry” Mathias, and Raleigh Gordon—all natives of Kingston, Jamaica—the Maytals are credited with the first use of the word “reggae” in a song titled “Do the Reggay.” Formed in the early ’60s the Maytals had a reputation for strong, well-blended voices and a seldom rivaled passion for their music. Toots Hibbert, one of the great voices of Jamaica, is a legend whose career spans every development in Jamaican music, from ska through rock-steady to reggae. Toots and the Maytals have helped to chart the course of Jamaican music with unrivaled delivery and dynamism. Artist Website

N.A.S.A.'s Intergalactic Circus

The story of N.A.S.A. (acronym for North America/South America) goes back five and half years when Squeak E. Clean (Sam Spiegel) and DJ Zegon (Ze Gonzales) met in São Paulo, Brazil and discovered their mutual love for rare Brazilian funk and soul records. They decided to share their experience and create a record that brought people together from different musical genres, races, religions, politics, countries and languages, ignoring boundaries that keep people divided. The result is “The Spirit of Apollo,” N.A.S.A.’s debut record that features an impressive array of guest artists who share this goal of cross-cultural collaboration. Artist Website

August 20 Iron & Wine | Okkervil River

IRON & WINE

Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of singersongwriter Samuel Beam. He has released three studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). While many of us learned of Iron and Wine by Sam Beam’s tender and spare rendering of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” on the Garden State soundtrack, those who dug deeper discovered a classic American tunesmith with a precocious musical signature. Songs like “Lion’s Man,” “Jesus the Mexican Boy” and “Naked as We Came” are remarkable demonstrations of craft; musically memorable, lyrically evocative and casually atmospheric. Artist Website

OKKERVIL RIVER

Combining folk-rock inspirations and alternative rock sways, Okkervil River creates a visionary sound, strongly founded on dark lyrics and chaotic visions. Okkervil River began as a mutual project of Will Robison Sheff (vocals, guitar) and Seth Warren (drums) when both were in high school in Meriden, NH. After several years and many life experiences, the duo decided to reassemble the band, with an extended lineup. According to their website, during the succeeding years and with multiple albums later “ it's been touring, recording on the sly, days of laughter, nights of overindulgence, mornings of regret, miles and miles of inexhaustibly breathtaking America, driving, playing, and driving.” Artist Website

August 27 Robert Randolph and the Family Band | Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

ROBERT RANDOLPH AND THE FAMILY BAND

Emerging from a House of God church in Orange, New Jersey and steeped in the “sacred steel” tradition, Robert Randolph’s astonishing pedal steel playing has had a revolutionary impact. Like a mere handful of musicians–Louis Armstrong, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder–he has actually been able to redefine the sonic possibilities of his instrument. Randolph’s string wizardry is the focal point of the Family Band’s legendary live appearances. “I’m trying to create a new field and a new style that’ll influence some kids to go, ‘wow, I can be Black and be from the inner city and I don’t have to be a rapper, ’” says Randolph. Artist Website

BLACK JOE LEWIS & THE HONEY BEARS

Austin-based Black Joe Lewis is a contemporary singer and guitarist with a bent toward vintage blues, soul, and R&B, backed by the Honeybears. Black Joe Lewis released his debut album in 2007. Esquire Magazine listed Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears as one of the “Ten Bands Set to Break Out” at 2009’s SXSW Festival. In 2009, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears released Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is! on Lost Highway Records. Artist Website