Futurebirds at the Codfish Hollow Barn -- August 26.
Friday, August 26, 7 p.m.
Codfish Hollow Barn, 5013 288th Street, Maquoketa IA
With the genre-spanning band hailed by Rolling Stone as “brutally honest and purposely vulnerable,” the indie-rock, -country, and Americana talents of Futurebirds headline an August 26 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, their most recent album Teamwork lauded by American Songwriter as “a culmination of nonstop roadwork and the band’s finest effort yet.”
Known for their high energy shows and country rock infused sound, Futurebirds formed in Athens, Georgia, in 2008, and their first album, Hampton's Lullaby, was released via the Aquarium Drunkard imprint Autumn Tone Records in July of 2010. The ensemble's music generally incorporates reverb-soaked four-part harmonies supported by pedal steel guitar, rhythmic percussion, banjo, mandolin, and acoustic and electric guitars with heavy feedback, and has at times been described as "psychedelic country." Following Hampton's Lullaby, Futurebirds' self-titled debut EP was re-released in February of 2011, with their second EP, Via Flamina, arriving a mere three months later. During the summer of 2011, the group toured with Grace Potter & the Nocturnals on the Bonnaroo Buzz Tour and performed twice during the Bonnaroo festival, and since then, the musicians have shared stages with the likes of Widespread Panic, Drive-By Truckers, Dead Confederate, The Whigs, Blitzen Trapper, and Jonny Corndawg.
Over the past decade, Futurebirds has released a quartet of additional EPs and another three full-length studio albums, all of which have garnered critical acclaim. Released in 2013, Baba Yaga led to Pitchfork to rave that the recording "nails the melancholy of trying to chase and pin down something that's special and fleeting," and "does so with a loose-limbed tangle of reverbed guitars, hollered harmonies, and driving Southern rock rhythms." 2015's Hotel Parties, meanwhile, was praised by Relix as a work that "digs to the heart of the band, and reveals deeper truths about the endless wheel of longing and the never-ceasing journey toward fulfillment."
The musicians are currently touring in support of their latest EP Bloomin' Too, and as vocalist/guitarist Carter King stated, “Futurebirds is the best it’s been right now, far and away. We’ve been unintentionally carving out our own space since the beginning, since we never exactly fit in anywhere else musically. We were always too indie-rock for the jam festival, too country for the indie scene, a little too psych-rock to feel like we were Americana. The music over the years just kind of created its own weird little ecosystem -- it's thriving and it feels great.”
Futurebirds plays its Maquoketa engagement on August 26 with additional sets by Jordan Sellergen and Dan Tedesco, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $25, and more information and tickets are available by visiting CodfishHollowBarnstormers.com.
