Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts at the Raccoon Motel -- December 16.
Thursday, December 16, 7 p.m.
The Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Performing locally in support of their most recent album OHBAHOY – a collection described by Maximum Volume Music as “such a staggeringly diverse 11 songs that you can only marvel at it” – the Rockford, Illinois-based talents of Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts play Davenport's Raccoon Motel on December 16, the band sure to deliver what Americana-UK calls “smooth, well-written, and well-produced power-pop packages.”
Although he's also the son of iconic Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen, Miles Nielsen has been forging his own musical path for decades, with his 2009 album debut Miles followed by 2012's Miles Nielsen Presents the Rusted Hearts, a compilation of 12 songs that learned more toward Americana-pop in the vein of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers than the hard-rock stylings his father is famed for. In a 2010 interview with the River Cities' Reader's Jeff Ignatius, guitarist/vocalist Miles stated, “"Maybe when I was younger, I worried: Where's my 'I Want You to Want Me's, my 'Surrender's and 'Dream Police's and these things? How am I going to live in these shoes? I think I've come to a pretty good acceptance that my dad had a really great songwriting run there for about 10, 12 years – kind of unstoppable.” Since his 2012 album with the Rusted Hearts – an ensemble completed by Daniel James McMahon on guitar, Adam Plamann on horns and keys, Dave McClellan on bass, and Jeff Werckle on drums – Nielsen has also recorded the 2012 EP St. Louis Sessions and, with his bandmates, 2014's Rockford and 2016's Heavy Metal. The 2019 album OHBAHOY, meanwhile, went on to earn Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts some of the most laudatory notices of their careers.
The United Kingdom's Get Ready to Rock praised the recording's “well-polished, laid-back grooves,” calling it “a finely crafted pop/rock album that owes as much of a debt to the songcraft of the likes of Tom Petty and the extended Wilburys fraternity.” Keys & Chords deemed Nielsen “an excellent vocalist” and his most recent recording “a great album.” And according to Artree, OHBAHOY is “a refreshing album that has carefully blended together scores of influential musicians and genres through the years and repurposed them into something that’s strikingly unique. What Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts create isn’t just music or song, it’s genuine art and peace of mind. Their deep and heartfelt music is an invigorating rush that has the power to shape the way your day turns out.”
Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts play their Davenport engagement on December 16, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $15, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
