The Deslondes at the Raccoon Motel -- September 27.
Tuesday, September 27, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
With No Depression praising their singular blend of "rootsy Americana, ’70s psych, lo-fi garage rock, and some good old country-western," the touring artists of The Deslondes headline a September 27 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel in support of their recent release Ways & Means, an album that delivers, according to Glide magazine, the band's strongest, most eclectic sound yet, setting the bar where all future records will be judged."
Based in New Orleans, The Deslondes are composed of Dan Cutler (vocals/stand-up bass), Sam Doores (vocals/guitar), Riley Downing (vocals/guitar), Cameron Snyder (vocals/percussion), and John James Tourville (fiddle/pedal steel). All five members share in the songwriting process, and their music blends together influences from folk, rock 'n' roll, bluegrass, R&B, American roots music, blues, gospel, country, and zydeco. The band formed in the Holy Cross neighborhood in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, and take their name from a street in that neighborhood. Doores met Snyder while attending college, and after Doores read Woody Guthrie’s autobiography Bound for Glory, he quit school to head to New Orleans with Snyder. They consequently formed the band The Broken Wing Routine and attended the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Oklahoma, where they met Missouri native Downing. In New Orleans, Doores also met Cutler and formed The Tumbleweeds, while Snyder and Tourville met on tour with The Longtime Goners. Doores and Cutler also played in New Orleans band Hurray for the Riff Raff, and The Tumbleweeds often opened for that band.
In 2013, The Tumbleweeds officially changed their name to The Deslondes, and two years later, the musicians released their first, self-titled album to critical acclaim. Their first single, "Fought The Blues And Won," was premiered by NPR, the music video for the song "The Real Deal" premiered in the online version of Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork stated, "When the Deslondes open their self-titled debut with a walking piano line played way, way down the left side of the keyboard, they’re not just playing a rhythm that sounds distinctive in 2015, but also conveying an entire pop history that spans New Orleans rhythm and blues, early Memphis rock, Louisiana Hayride country, and every pick-up jazz band ever to busk on Royal Street." With subsequent albums including 2017's Hurry Home and this year's Wars & Means, Doores has described the band's songwriting method as a group process: "We're about as democratic as it gets," he says. "Five equal members who all write and contribute a whole lot to the project."
The Deslondes play their Davenport engagement on September 27, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $15, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
