Thursday, October 5, 7 p.m.
The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA
For its October 5 RME Member Appreciation Show, Davenport's River Music Experience will host both a concert and a movie, as musician Dan Tedesco will precede his alt-folk and -rock set with a screening of Chasing the Lightning, the new documentary that follows the singer/songwriter through many months of touring performances.
A native of the Chicago suburbs now living in Des Moines, Tedesco began pursuing his rock-and-roll career as a high-school guitarist, recalling in a CSIndy.com interview, “I would go to the practice room at school, turn the amp up, and just play power chords for four hours. I just wanted to play something that made the heart shake. That's what really mattered to me.” He released his debut Starin' at a Red Light in 2009, and eventually followed it with 2011's Tracks on Fire, 2014's Death in the Valley, and 2015's self-titled album, which the Boston Globe praised for its “minimalist rhythmic guitar, melodies that swoop, soar, and linger, and lyrics saturated with metaphor.”
Tedesco and his frequent tour stops, meanwhile, are the subject of the artist's documentary Chasing the Lightning. Filmed over a period of two years, the movie follows Tedesco as he plays small clubs throughout the Midwest, and offers late-night meditations from its subject on what it means to pursue a life in music. After the film, Tedesco will participate in an audience Q&A session, and perform an acoustic set from his recent repertoire.
The Chasing the Lightning screening and Tedesco's concert will be followed by a performance with singer/songwriter Mo Carter, and tickets are free for RME members and $8-10 for the general public. For more on the RME Member Appreciation Show, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.