Shakey Graves, May 10

Friday, May 10, 7:40 p.m.

Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA

Boasting three Billboard top-10 album smashes in Roll the Bones, And the War Came, and Can't Wake Up, folk singer/songwriter Shakey Graves – the performance moniker of Austin, Texas-born Alejandro Rose-Garcia – headlines a May 10 concert at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, the artist's 2023 Movie of the Week lauded by Under the Radar magazine as "a heady intellectual concept laced with his silly sense of humor."

Before being known as Shakey Graves, Rose-Garcia had acting roles in Friday Night Lights and the Spy Kids franchise, but he eventually became known for his one-man band set up, with most of his 2011 self-released debut album Roll the Bones finding him playing solo. This presentational style originated after Graves grew tired of having to borrow kick drums and high hats in order to perform, his solution consisting of a modified suitcase that functions as both a kick drum and a tambourine stand built by a close friend. With Roll the Bones making the top five on Billboard's Folk chart, the artist's unique style of performance led to him being asked to be the official busker for the Edward Sharpe and Mumford & Sons Railroad Revival Tour in 2011, where he played music for patrons entering each venue. Graves' follow-up EP The Donor Blues was released in 2012, and features a collection of recordings from 2009.

After being courted by multiple labels, Shakey Graves signed with Dualtone Records, and his album And the War Came was released in 2014. Graves then began touring as a three-piece band, making their television debut on Conan in October of 2014, and then appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman. In September of the following year, Shakey Graves won the Best Emerging Artist award at the 2015 Americana Music Awards. Like And the Way Came, third album Can't Wake Up, released in 2018, would go on to be a top-10 Billboard hit. And with last year's Movie of the Week, a collection of songs whittled down from epic-length recording sessions, Graves devised one of his most innovative musical adventures yet. "Imagination really is the tool," says the artist. "The point is to make and create something yourself. Any way that I can allow people to apply their imagination over my music – and allow them to sculpt it using their own prompts – will let them create something new."

Shakey Graves plays his Event Center engagement on May 10, admission to the 7 p.m. all-ages concert is $50-90, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)328-8000 and visiting RhythmCityCasino.com.