BIG | BRAVE at the Raccoon Motel -- August 10.
Big Brave: Saturday, August 10, 1:30 p.m.
Old 97's: Saturday, August 10, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Two very disparate, equally thrilling concert events will take place in the same Davenport venue on August 10, with the Raccoon Motel proud to host a performance by the drone-doom and post-metal musicians of BIG | BRAVE in the afternoon, and the alternative-country and Americana artists of Old 97's in the evening.
BIG | BRAVE is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 2012 in Montreal, and its musicians are best-known for their blend of drone doom and post-metal. The outfit's current members are guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie, guitarist Mathieu Ball, and drummer Tasy Hudson. While Wattie and Ball are original members, having played together as an acoustic-oriented duo before forming BIG | BRAVE, Hudson joined them in 2020, replacing former drummer Loel Campbell, who himself had replaced original drummer Louis-Alexandre Beauregard. To date, BIG | BRAVE have released seven studio albums, ranging from 2014's feral Verdure to 2024's A Chaos of Flowers, as well as one collaborative album with The Body in 2021, Leaving None but Small Birds. They have been three-time Polaris Music Prize nominees, with longlist nods at the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for Vital, the 2023 Polaris Music Prize for nature morte, and this year's Polaris Music Prize for A Chaos of Flowers.
Based in Dallas, Texas, and composed of Rhett Miller, Murry Hammond, Ken Bethea, and Philip Peeples, Old 97's have released, to date, 13 studio albums over the years between 1994's Hitchhike to Rhome and 2024's American Primitive, as well as two full extended plays, one live album, and shared split duty on another recording. Old 97's were pioneers of the alt-country movement during the mid-to-late 1990s, after which they developed more of a power-pop style in the 2000s. Lead vocalist and primary songwriter Miller has described the band's style as "loud folk," with many of the band's songs including local Texas references, with allusions to New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago appearing, as well. Among recent accomplishments, the band members portrayed the alien rock band Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, singing the original song "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)" and their 2018 song "Here It Is Christmastime," the latter with Kevin Bacon singing lead.
At the first of the Raccoon Motel's August 10 concert events, BIG | BRAVE will share the stage with Spiritual Poison and Aseethe, with admission to the 1:30 p.m. concert $19.42. Later that evening, Old 97's will be joined with special guest John Buffalo, and admission to the 7 p.m. engagement is $33.06. For tickets to both Davenport events, visit TheRaccoonMotel.com.
