Free at Noon Flashback: The Cactus Blossoms flaunt a fuller folk-rock sound at World Cafe Live

Cactus Blossoms | photo by Gabriela Barbieri for WXPN

If you were looking for a folk fix this fine Friday afternoon, World Cafe Live was the place to be. Minneapolis crooners The Cactus Blossoms made a brief stop in town to serenade a packed house at today’s Free at Noon, and brought a taste of their new album Easy Way, which is out March 1, with them.

Brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey fill their songs with the kind of harmonies only siblings have — whether it’s genetic or just the product of a lifetime of practice, it’s earned them countless Everly Brothers comparisons, awestruck audiences, and even an appearance in the Twin Peaks reboot. Supported today by a dynamic backing band, The Cactus Blossoms brought plenty of the lilting country songs they’ve become known for, but also showed a fuller, more rock-influenced side to their sound which it seems like we’ll be hearing more of on the new album, which according to Rolling Stone is a reflection on “love, joy and the need to connect.”

After kicking things off with the Valentine’s Day-appropriate new song “Got A Lotta Love,” The Cactus Blossoms switched smoothly back and forth between songs off their 2016 album You’re Dreaming and some brand new tunes. With Easy Way‘s lead single “Please Don’t Call Me Crazy” — which Helen Leicht is already calling one of her favorite songs of 2019 — the band gave perhaps the best example of their knack for blending old school, retro influences with a forward-thinking mindset that feels necessary in the present day. The band cut the live broadcast in order to close with an unreleased song, which only further proved that The Cactus Blossoms are someone to keep an eye (or an ear) on this year as they continue to grow into their sound.

XPN welcomes The Cactus Blossoms back to Philly for a show at Underground Arts on April 10. Find tickets and more information on the XPN Concert Calendar.