Saturday is Sold Out. There are still Tickets available for Sunday May 26th but they won’t last long. Click here for Sunday Tickets!
Rock juggernaut Futurebirds’ newest EP, Bloomin’ Too, is a benchmark that not only celebrates 13 years together, it’s also a testament to the sheer iron will of a group of musicians hungry for the fruits of its labor.
“Futurebirds is the best it’s been right now, far and away,” says singer/guitarist Carter King. “We’ve been unintentionally carving out our own space since the beginning, since we never exactly fit in anywhere else musically. We were always too indie rock for the jam festival, too country for the indie scene, a little too psych-rock to feel like we were Americana. The music over the years just kind of created its own weird little ecosystem — it’s thriving and it feels great.”
The Athens, Georgia-based group once again tapped storied My Morning Jacket guitarist/producer Carl Broemel in the latest chapter of this seamless, bountiful partnership that initially came to fruition with the 2021 EP, Bloomin’.
Spencer Thomas
The songs on Spencer Thomas’ new LP, The Joke of Life, (out May 17, 2024), much like a good joke, are many-layered. His talent is immediately obvious, with sleek composition and production throughout. There’s a nostalgic, everyman flair to his music that doesn’t hang on the influences of the past, but uses them as a guiding light to elevate his voice.
Songwriting reminiscent of Warren Zevon’s later work takes the helm as Thomas examines the gap that can be left between the expectations of life and the sometimes tenuous reality. Songs like “Misty Eyes”, “Fake Rain” and the album’s title track “The Joke of Life” present light-hearted, even laughable, acceptance of the often undesirable cards we’re dealt. The album chronicles a period of change and rebirth for Spencer, who is no stranger to the open road. Beneath the album’s more obvious virtues is a wit and longing borne from the experiences and struggles of a working-class musician.
“The Joke of Life”, was recorded over the last three years with the help of a veritable “who’s who” of the Athens music scene and beyond, including members of My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers, Reptar, Heffner and Futurebirds, for which he is the current touring keyboard player.