The Scarlet Goodbye at the Redstone Room -- June 29.
Saturday, June 29, 8 p.m.
The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA
Touring in support of their 2023 debut Hope's Eternal, an album praised by The Big Takeover's Dave Franklin as "one of the most attractive musical propositions I have heard in a long time," Daniel Murphy and Jeff Arundel bring The Scarlet Goodbye to Davenport's Redstone Room on June 23, the alternative-rock ensemble lauded by Roots Music Magazine as an outfit that "takes their listener's hand and guides them through a vast and bright world."
Murphy, who was pivotal in the launch of both Soul Asylum and the super-group Golden Smog, had stepped away from the game in 2012 after 30 years of recording and touring. A chance meeting with mellow singer/songwriter Arundel led the duo, whose careers spanned the same time frame but had essentially no other resemblance, to start writing and recording together. With the first collaboration “Paris," they realized that they were onto something, as Murphy shoved Arundel into a swagger, and Arundel tip-toed Murphy onto revealing some vulnerabilities. Meeting in an attic studio during the 2020 pandemic, Murphy and Arundel fashioned a collection of songs that producer John Fields, who was brought in to mix the record, calls “both timeless and unique, part Rolling Stones and part Townes Van Zandt."
Over 2022, The Scarlet Goodbye released three singles and a video to critical acclaim, and went on to perform on stages large and small, bracing for the March 2023 release of their full-length record Hope’s Eternal on Ingrooves/Universal, via Nashville’s The Label Group. The album earned critical raves, with The Big Takeover stating, "What a cracker it is. 'Rosary' kicks us off and sits in the middle of that perfect step between pop and a hard place, potency and poise, grace and groove ... and you find yourself gently pulled along by an album that wanders between reassuring weight and delicate sonic structures. 'Charity' is chiming and charming, its spaciousness allowing all manner of more-than-the-sum-of-their-parts sounds to pool and percolate between the lingering notes and the breathing space between the lyrics. 'The Ballad of Julie-Ann' is both slightly trippy and wonderfully compelling, and 'Sandy' is the song where [Murphy and Arundel] really allow themselves to rock out, reflective and nostalgic but fun and full of life."
The Scarlet Goodbye plays their Redstone Room engagement on June 29 with additional sets by Chrash and Tambourine, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $15-18, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)326-1333 and visiting CommonChordQC.org.
