Them Coulee Boys, October 16

Thursday, October 16, 6 p.m.

Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA

Currently touring in support of their fifth LP No Fun in the Chrysalis, a February release hailed by Folk Alley for songs that "shine gem-like, sparkling with the light of love and joy," the Midwestern artists of Them Coulee Boys enjoy a headlining engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel on October 16, the group inspiring Jam & Toast to rave, "With a unique blend of Americana, folk-rock, bluegrass, and punk influences, they have cultivated a sound that is both familiar and refreshingly original."

Composed of Beau Janke, Neil Krause, Stas Hable, and Jens and Soren Staff, Them Coulee Boys was founded in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, by Beau and Soren in 2013, and the musicians quickly found themselves a major force on the Midwestern music scene, their 2014 album I Never Lied About Being in Love and 2016 follow-up Dancing in the Dim Light earning them such citations as “Best Local Album 2016” by Volume One magazine and “Best Bluegrass Band” and “Best Folk Band” in Visit La Crosse's 2017 “Best of La Crosse” poll. The ensemble has shared stages with the likes of John Fogerty, Trampled by Turtles, Pert Near Sandstone, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, and the Yonder Mountain String Band, and in 2018, Them Coulee Boys released Die Happy to rave reviews. According to The Alternate Root, the songs on this recording “were born with a natural sense of the human condition, translating what [the musicians] see into laser-sharp assessments of characters and a particularly unique knack of finding the middle-ground sweet spot between punk rock, bluegrass, and rock 'n' roll.”

The group was twice named a Wisconsin Area Music Association Band of the Year nominee, and in 2020, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel labeled the musicians "a band to watch." The reviews for that year's Namesake album suggested that they're also a band well worth listening to. As reviewer Bill Golembeski wrote for Folking, Them Coulee Boys' recording "breaks free from 'the four grey walls that surround me' and opens the bluegrass/folk/rock throttle to burn its melodic way through my rural Midwest Wisconsin with its dense northern woods, western cliffs, countless backroads that girdle small towns with Budweiser taverns, red barns, John Deere tractors, August hay bales, and of course, way too many cows." And prior to February's critically lauded No Fun in the Chrysalis, the ensemble's Ten Years Tall from 2023 found its musicians, as Volume One reported, "celebrating their 10-year anniversary with a bang."

Them Coulee Boys play their headlining engagement in Davenport on October 16 with an additional set by The Heavy Quitters, admission to the 6 p.m. concert is $23.81, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.