The Yawpers at the Raccoon Motel -- July 3. (photo by Michael Passman)
Sunday, July 3, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Described by Rolling Stone as blending “highbrow smarts with down-home stomp,” the Denver-based rockers of The Yawpers headline a July 3 concert set at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the musicians touring in support of their most recent album that led Pop Matters to rave, "the Yawpers are a great American rock and roll band, and Human Question is one of this year’s most accomplished releases."
Composed of Nate Cook on lead guitar, Jesse Parmet on slide guitar, and Noah Shomberg on drums, the Yawpers' moniker was taken from a famed Leaves of Grass line in Walt Whitman's poem “Song of Myself”: “I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” After a pair of self-released albums and a concert set at the 2015 South by Southwest music festival, the blues-rock and punk musicians captured the attention of Bloodshot Records, which signed the Yawpers and released American Man in September of 2015. In addition to earning a rave from Rolling Stone, which described its song “Burdens” as “a Springsteen-worthy tribute to escaping the city limits of one's hometown,” American Man inspired Glide magazine to state: “Let’s hope these guys tour heavily behind this album, because it leaves you itching to to catch them in the flesh for what is undoubtedly a riotous, killer live show.”
Over the years, the Yawpers have played shows with touring acts including Delta Spirit, Lucero, the Reverend Horton Heat, and Blind Pilot, and have traveled the country alongside Nashville Pussy, Supersuckers, and the Blasters. Released in 2017, the band's Boy in a Well tells of a boy who lives in France during World War I, and who is eventually abandoned in a well by his mother. According to TheYawpers.com, the concept album “was initially conjured by lead singer Nate Cook after a reckless combination of alcohol, half a bottle of Dramamine, and an early morning flight.” The album went on to amass some of the Yawpers' strongest reviews, with Pitchfork describing the musicians as “compelling in their mix of gut-bucket rockabilly,” and New Noise calling the work “a big gamble that pays off handsomely.” Released two years later, Human Question continued the plaudits for the band, with Americana Highways' Michael Magoolaghan calling the Yawpers' latest "the album I was hoping they’d eventually make: one that foregrounds and consolidates all their strengths, while at the same time adding some intriguing new elements."
The Yawpers bring their national tour to Davenport on July 3, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $15, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
