Lost Dog Street Band at the Raccoon Motel -- March 6.
Sunday, March 6, 7 p.m.
The Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Lauded by Holler magazine as an outfit that is "starting to make the most lifelike music of their career," the dark-country trio Lost Dog Street Band headlines a March 6 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel in support of their newest recording Glory, a work that American Songwriter called "an album that loops the listener in, courtesy of a decidedly down-home sound which gives these homespun homilies the humility and humanity they demand."
Composed of singer/songwriter and guitarist Benjamin Tod, his wife and band vocalist and fiddler Ashley Mae, and bass player Jeff Loops, Lost Dog Street Band made its album debut with 2011's Sick Pup, and has subsequently released a half-dozen additional albums including their newest recording Glory. The band has crowdfunded multiple album through Indiegogo and Kickstarter, as well as self-publishing their music videos on the YouTube channel GemsOnVHS, and after Lost Dog Street Band toured and released their fifth studio album Weight of a Trigger in 2019, the album reached number five on the Billboard Bluegrass Album chart that April.
Prior to their professional success, Tod and Mae spent years hopping trains, riding the rails, and busking to get by. The hard life lessons they learned along the way informed their country and folk stylings and helped establish their DIY ethos today, and Glory was designed as a return to form, with the Lost Dog Street Band trio swapping out the drums and pedal steel of their recent work for a stripped-down sound that places the band's hallmarks at the forefront. Boasting Tod's stirringly untreated vocals, cerebral lyrics, and Mae's emotive string stylings, the listener is anchored throughout a 10-song journey of addiction, regret, sobriety, hopefulness and, ultimately, resolve.
Reviews for Lost Dog Street Band's latest release have been glowing. As Holler stated, “Tod has a gift for writing confessional music, to say the least ... . With Glory, the seventh full-length offering from the group, Tod is able to portray the dark night of the soul with fidelity so convincing it’ll stop you in your tracks." According to American Songwriter, "As modest as it may be, Glory still manages to find nobility through resilience and resolve." And Glide magazine declared, "This is an honest album whose lyrics hit even harder because of the spare instrumentation. The stories in these songs are heavy, but they provide a beacon of hope for those who are struggling. The band shows that sometimes the best way to deal with your struggles is to sing about them."
Lost Dog Street Band plays its Davenport engagement on March 6 with an opening set by the Resonant Rogues, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $20, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
