Pinegrove| photo by Jeremy Zimmerman | jeremy-zim.com
The Key Presents: Pinegrove
“I’m a happy guy that makes sad music,” jokes Evan Stephens Hall with a smile. Spending time with someone as effervescent as Hall in person, you might never even realize the fact that the songs he writes for Pinegrove bring together packed rooms of yelling, sometimes tearful people. But over the past year, Pinegrove catapulted from their hometown of Montclair, NJ to the big time — signing to Run For Cover Records, selling out almost every date of a massive summer tour of the US and appearing at festivals like Lollapalooza. The reception speaks volumes to the relatability and maturity that Evan brings to the project. These aren’t just sad songs for sad people, or an attempt to jump on the “emo revival” bandwagon. These songs are holistically approached pieces of work, that touch on every emotion under the sun — good and bad.
While Pinegrove were on the road back in June, we caught up with them before they played PhilaMOCA and headed up to the roof, where Evan and bandmate Nandi Plunkett (who also makes music as the very excellent Half Waif) performed two acoustic versions of their songs for us in the sunshine. The first song, “Then Again,” is an upbeat jangler about roaming free that comes from their RFCR debut album Cardinal, while “Portal” is an intense, brand-new song that we get to premiere for you, right here, right now. Pinegrove is on tour now (dates below) and will be back in town December 11th, joining Petal and Kevin Devine for an absolutely stacked gig at Union Transfer. This is The Key Presents: Pinegrove.
Tour Dates
Sep 28 – Bad Bonn – Dudingen, Switzerland
Sep 29 – Underground – Cologne, Germany
Oct 01 – The Fighting Cocks – Kingston Upon Thames, UK
Oct 03 – The Bodega Social Club – Nottingham, UK
Oct 04 – Studio 2 – Liverpool, UK
Oct 05 – Limelight 2 – Belfast, UK
Oct 07 – Kasbah Social Club – Limerick, Ireland
Oct 08 – Whelan’s – Dublin, Ireland
Nov 01 – Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
Nov 02 – Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC
Nov 03 – The Underground – Charlotte, NC
Nov 04 – The Social – Orlando, FL
Nov 05 – Orpheum – Ybor City, FL
Nov 06 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Nov 08 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
Nov 09 – Gas Monkey Bar N Grill – Dallas, TX
Nov 11 – The Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ
Nov 12 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
Nov 15 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR
Nov 16 – Chop Suey – Seattle, WA
Nov 19 – The Marquis Theater – Denver, CO
Nov 20 – The Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS
Nov 22 – The Basement East – East Nashville, TN
Dec 03 – High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
Dec 06 – Ace of Cups – Columbus, OH
Dec 07 – Cattivo – Pittsburgh, PA
Dec 08 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
Dec 09 – The Ballroom at the Outer Space – Hamden, CT
Dec 10 – Royale – Boston, MA
Dec 11 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
Feb 22 – Scala – London, UK