Hey, music lovers!
Instead of my usual artist profile, I’m mixing my October post up a bit and presenting you with a music-related something that you should definitely check out: Communion Music and its U.S. club nights.
Communion Music is, like the name suggests, a community that provides up-and-coming musicians with a platform for their music and live shows. It was founded in London in 2006 by Ben Lovett (Mumford & Sons) and Kevin Jones (Bear’s Den), and since its inception, it has helped launch the careers of several well-known English musicians, including Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, Noah & The Whale, Ben Howard, and Jay Jay Pistolet (a.k.a. Justin Young, now of The Vaccines). Communion now has chapters in the U.S. and Australia as well. Visit www.communionmusic.co.uk for more information about Communion, a list of participating artists, and the Communion store.
Contributing to the success of Communion Music were “club nights” held in cities throughout the U.K. This past August, Communion announced that it was bringing these club nights to nine cities in the United States: New York City; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, Louisville, Kentucky; Bloomington, Indiana; Nashville; Minneapolis; Madison, Wisconsin; and Rock Island, Illinois/Maquoketa, Iowa. Once a month, a venue in each of these nine cities hosts shows featuring a handful of emerging artists, some that are part of the Communion movement. October’s round of club nights featured psychedelic pop band Rubblebucket, Australian duo Yacht Club DJs, and singer/songwriter Willy Mason as its headliners, and each show featured a mix of regional artists, allowing concert-goers the chance to sample local music that they might not have known about before.
I have the good fortune of living relatively close to two of these new Communion sites, Rock Island/Maquoketa (collectively known as Communion Daytrotter) and Madison, so I knew I couldn’t miss the debut of the U.S. club nights and the opportunity to hear some fresh new music. I chose Communion Daytrotter, which was held in a barn-turned-music venue called Codfish Hollow in Maquoketa, Iowa.
The fact that October’s Daytrotter venue was a barn, complete with hay bales for seating and a tractor ride that transported people between the parking lot and the venue, was the first sign of many that I was in for a special night. The musicians, including the Des Moines, Iowa based soul-rock band Dustin Smith and the Sunday Silos; and the Milwaukee, Wisconsin based country band Hugh Bob and the Hustle; and the Minneapolis based hard-rock quartet 4onthefloor, all brought a different atmosphere to the event. Coupled with the stripped-down, finger-picked tunes of Communion artist Willy Mason (he performed with only his electric guitars and an effect pad that mimicked the sound of a kick drum), the night’s music selections offered a little something for everyone.
To top all of that off, the artists made it a point not to stay hidden backstage but to mix with the crowd throughout the night. They talked to fans at the merchandise table, watched the performances, huddled around the fire pits and smoked cigarettes with the crowd outside the barn. 4onthefloor’s merch stand even included a webcam for fans to take pictures of themselves. The word “Communion” took on another dimension in that sense; it wasn’t just about the camaraderie between the musicians, but the interaction between the musicians and the crowd as well. We were a part of it as much as the musicians were.
Tickets for the November round of club nights can be purchased at http://communionmusic.com. Artists include Tennis, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Savoir Adore, and ON AND ON, plus more to be announced, depending on the venue. Check the Communion website or each city’s Facebook page (search “Communion” followed by the city on Facebook; for example, “Communion Philadelphia”) for more information as it becomes available. If you’re a music fanatic in the area of any of the nine Communion cities, a club night is an experience that you don’t want to miss.
Live, Love, Learn,