Hezekiah Jones | Photo by Cameron Pollack for WXPN | cameronpollackphotography.com
Key Fest At-A-Glance, Part Three: Sunday night roots rawk with Hezekiah Jones, Howlish, Friendship and Lou
Two nights down, one to go – #KeyFest wraps up tonight at MilkBoy, with a focus on the roots-inspired rock and folk scenes, a longtime thriving community here in Philadelphia. Here’s what’s on tap.
Tess Emma plus Modern Colour equals Lou, a burgeoning indie rock powerhouse that’s been active on the Philly scene for the past year. Fusing each of their backgrounds – roots (Emma) and modern rock (MC) – creates a drifting melodic tapestry with traces of Death Cab. They’ve got a few live EPs out this already with a studio project on the way.
The four friends of Friendship moved from coastal Maine to Philadelphia about a year ago and released the excellent LP You’re Going to Have to Trust Me last year. It’s a fine collection of contemplative gothic Americana in the vein of Crazy Horse and Magnolia Electric Company. Anchored by observational lyrics by Dan Wriggins and evocative pedal steel by Peter Gill, their set tonight is not to be missed.
Mark Watter is a tremendous guitar soundscapes who’s lent his talents to Rosu Lup and Caroline Reese and the Drifting Fifth. Tonight, he takes the stage with Howlish, his main project which blends good old American rock and roll with stratospheric psych in the vein of The War on Drugs. Amplify your Sunday night, people.
Closing out the night and the festival is a stripped down set from Hezekiah Jones, aka Raphael Cutrufello – a master songwriter and storyteller who last year released the excellent In Loving Memory of oosi Lockjaw LP. From the vibrant rock of “The Dark Heart’s Out” to the playful folk bounce of “Go Cat Fall,” the record has a lot of variety – we’ll hear it played tonight by a four-piece configuration of the band.
Key Fest Night Three kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. at MilkBoy, 1100 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. For tickets and more information, click here.