Sunday, June 17, 7 p.m.
Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel, 304 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Performing in support of their sophomore album Arms of a Dream, a spring release that Ghetto Blaster magazine deemed the band's “most vivid and transformative music to date,” the Canadian musicians of Reuben & the Dark play a Moeller Nights concert on June 17, their folk-rock stylings leading American Songwriter to dub the group “Bright Eyes meets Mumford & Sons.”
Based in Calgary, Alberta, the indie quartet Reuben & the Dark formed after the release of bandleader Reuben Bullock's first solo album Pulling Up Arrows in 2010. Bullock was already performing with his brother, percussion and cello player Distance Bullock, and was searching for like-minded musicians to help interpret his intense, brooding folk songs on-stage. The Bullocks were consequently joined by multi-instrumentalist Shea Alain and bassist Scott Munro, and employing this new ensemble, Reuben recorded 2012's Man Made Lakes, which boasted a fuller sound thanks to the added group harmonies of his bandmates. Although it was billed as Bullock's second solo album, it was recorded as a band, and Reuben & the Dark hit the road touring Western Canada.
Following a trip to Mexico, where Bullock performed a handful of solo shows, he caught the attention of Mairead Nash, owner of London's Luv Luv Luv Records. A trip to England followed, and Bullock recorded several demos with producer and Florence + the Machine drummer Christopher Hayden. As the project took hold, it blossomed into 2014's Funeral Sky, the first official album released under the Reuben & the Dark moniker, and an album that Popstache.com called “masterful” and praised for the musicians' “uncommon mix of raw power, talent, and chemistry.” Amid heavy touring, the band recorded a stand-alone single, “Heart in Two,” that topped CBC Radio 2's Top-20 chart in February 2016, leading to the release of the new Arms of a Dream, lauded by Atwood magazine for its “beautiful outpour of emotion and heart.”
Reuben & the Dark plays the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel on June 17 with an opening set by Oregon-based Americana singer/songwriter Chcuk Westmoreland, admission to the 7 p.m. show is $12-17, and more information and tickets are available by visiting MoellerNights.com.
