Alex Williams at the Raccoon Motel -- August 30.
Saturday, August 30, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Touring in support of his July release Space Brain, a recording that The Rock Father Magazine said finds the artist "throwing gasoline on the campfire and lighting up his metal roots," Nashville's Alex Williams returns to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on August 30, the musician hailed by PopMatters as “a winning songwriter who manages to mix humor with traditional country sentiment without falling into hokey pastiche."
A native of Pendleton, Indiana, Williams grew up listening to '80s metal, but gravitated toward classic country in his late teens after his grandparents introduced him to albums such as Waylon Jennings' Dreaming My Dreams and Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger. He enrolled in Nashville's Belmont University after graduating from high school, but soon dropped out and began gigging in Tennessee, Texas, and his home state of Indiana. After fronting his own band Williams & Company, Big Machine Records producer Julian Raymond signed Williams separately from his band, eventually taking him into the studio with a star-studded backing ensemble (J.T. Corenflos, Matt Rollings, Victor Indrizzo) to record his debut album. The resulting Better Than Myself was released in August of 2017, with Williams continuing the neo-traditionalist country tradition that surfaced in the wake of Jamey Johnson's success at the start of the decade.
For his debut recording, the artist received no end of raves. Saving Country Music said of Williams, “He’s established himself as the real deal, crawled inside the belly of the beast while holding onto his own identity and style.” Country Exclusive extolled, “Alex Williams definitely has a great, throwback country sound and style that also adds more contemporary elements. He’s got a great voice to match, and you’ll truly find country all over this record.” The superlative notices continued for Williams' 2022 album Waging Peace, which led Holler Country Music to deem the recording "smartly arranged, intricate, and inventive," and which inspired Saving Country Music to call it "a seasoned and sensational specimen of Outlaw-style country music rendered in the modern context."
Alex Williams performs his Davenport engagement on August 30 with an additional set by Isaac Rudd, and admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $19.84. (The evening event will be preceded by a 2 p.m. concert with LA Armada, Racetraitor, Wretched Blessing, Blaster, and The Hunting Grounds Death Cult, with admission also $19.84.) For more information and tickets, visit TheRaccoonMotel.com.
