Bendigo Fletcher at the Raccoon Motel -- April 21.
Friday, April 21, 8 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
With their 2021 studio-debut album Fits of Laughter hailed by Atwood magazine as "a dazzling, soothing, and rip-roaring psych-rock immersion," the talents of Bendigo Fletcher headline a concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel on April 21, their professional plaudits including a Tinnitist rave for "the band's gorgeously jangly collision of country and folk-rock and dreamy psychedelia."
With the musicians hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Bendigo Fletcher, as lauded by AllMusic's Mark Deming, are "a band that blend the organic sound of folk music with a melodic sense that owes more to indie rock, making music that's dreamlike and firmly grounded at the same time. Led by singer, guitarist, and songwriter Ryan Anderson, the quintet's brand of trippy Americana can be witty or passionately sincere depending on the tenor of their songs, and Anderson's vocals are informed by an emotional honesty that's as powerful as their music.
"Ryan Anderson initially created Bendigo Fletcher in 2015 as a home-recording project, laying down all the parts on his own through multi-tracking and later adding musicians in order to perform the songs live. 2018's seven-song Consensual Wisdom, released in several unique vinyl editions by Soul Step Records, was largely recorded by Anderson, but before long Bendigo Fletcher became a full-fledged band with the addition of Andrew Shupert on lead guitar; Evan Wagner on keyboards, guitar, percussion, and backing vocals; Conner Powell on bass; and Chris Weis on drums. As talk of their live shows and word of mouth began spreading about the band outside their home town, they cut a second independent EP, 2019's Memory Fever, which was once again in several limited-vinyl editions pressed with unusual color patterns. Elektra Records signed Bendigo Fletcher to a record deal, and the group teamed with former Uncle Tupelo and Wilco member Ken Coomer for their first album, with Coomer producing the session at his personal studio in Nashville." That studio debut, Fits of Laughter, was issued by Elektra in August of 2021, and was followed last fall by the EP Wingding, a work that led Broadway World to rave, "Shapeshifting on an axis between folk, alternative, country, and soul, Bendigo Fletcher's lofty melodies soar above earthy instrumentation."
Bendigo Fletcher play their Davenport engagement on April 21 with an opening set by Twen, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $15, and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
