JP Harris at Rozz-Tox -- August 22.
Friday, August 22, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Lauded by PopMatters as an artist who "creates the steely and visceral sounds that make country music so appealing and convivial," singer/songwriter JP Harris headlines an August 22 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, his accomplishments including curating and producing the Keep It Country Music Festival at Bandit Town in North Fork, California, and winning an Independent Music Award for Best Album – Country.
As stated in his biography at the artist's ILoveHonkyTonk.com site, "In 2011, Harris loaded his van and trailer with every tool, guitar, and keepsake he could cram and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, shortly before the release of his debut album I’ll Keep Calling, which would win him countless accolades from various outlets and entities unheard of by the general masses. It was enough praise to keep him on the road, even if his largest reward garnered at the time was a sizable box of Taco Bell gift cards. He would go on to record 2014’s Home Is Where The Hurt Is, 2018’s Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing, and 2021’s Appalachian banjo-centric side project album Don’t You Marry No Railroad Man, under the moniker JP Harris’ Dreadful Wind & Rain.
"JP’s historic restoration carpentry has continued to be a baseline for his relationship to music; the yin to his yang, the Burt to his Ernie, the Dolly to his Porter. It was through this concurrent line of work that he met another twice-initialed singer with a penchant for old Americana music, obscure film, and overly elaborate ethnic meal preparations: one JD McPherson. The two became fast friends and would eventually, through many twists, turns, false starts, and biblically-proportionate plagues, enter a modest studio in Nashville to record Harris’ latest album JP Harris Is a Trash Fire.
"Over the course of nine months in 2023, they recorded a sometimes lush, sometimes sparse, and sometimes jarring country album of Harris’ originals, loudly and violently squelching any attempt to pigeon-hole a song into any subgenre of country music. Only albums by Lee Hazelwood and an obscure folk album Waylon Jennings made when his hair was still short were allowed to be mentioned in reference. Featuring the guest vocals of Erin Rae, The Watson Twins, Shovels & Rope, and producer JD McPherson himself, the record is equal parts satire, reflection, and apology to those that would listen. In a musical landscape of period-correct reproduction, 'outlaw' Internet posturing, and flavor-of-the-month variants on country, JP Harris Is a Trash Fire burns bright as a dumpster ablaze in a Walmart parking lot on a moonless night; some will fear it, some will gravitate to its acrid warmth, and most will have no idea what to make of the situation.
"Harris has been steadily elbowing the definitive boundaries of 'country music' wider with every album, both sonically and lyrically, and his latest piece of self described 'Avant-Country' is no exception. Even within the rapidly growing world of 'underground' country music, Harris still considers himself an outsider, content to inhabit a gray area where punk rock ethos, folk art aesthetic, and the workingman’s ballad mingle."
JP Harris performs his Davenport engagement on August 22 with an opening set by Nathan Graham, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $19.84, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
