There’s a certain charm that comes with smoldering summer afternoons. While waving away some mosquitos and perspiration, we might find a pair of ice-cold Coke bottles and rocking chair melodies wafting off the porch. Northrop Summer Music Festival is bringing these front porch jams to the heart of the city on Friday, June 21st with the folky sounds of Minnesota bands Southwire and The Ericksons, opening for Chastity Brown, at Northrop Plaza, Minneapolis’ biggest front porch.
Ericksons
Originally from LaCrosse, WI, sisters Bethany Valentini and Jenny Kochsiek have been writing songs and performing as the Ericksons since 2006. They spent three years playing open mic nights and testing the waters in Brooklyn before returning to the Midwest and making the Twin Cities home. The sister duo’s sound features indie-folk acoustics and handsome synchronous harmonies. Their stylistic openness transcends genres to instead be cataloged by the emotions which clearly build and compose their music. Their latest album, The Wild, is being praised as dark, deep, soul-baring, and beautiful.
Recently spotlighted in a KARE 11 live in-studio performance, Bethany and Jennifer talk about writing songs and playing music together every night in their Brooklyn apartment. Their April visit to The Current studios—paired with the music on The Wild, self-described as an evolved rock indie-folk—has fans floored by their flawless harmonies and charmed by the tangible sisterly closeness in their collaboration. Joining the Americana lineup for the NSMF Friday concert, The Ericksons are set to bring all that indie summer folk we love into the airwaves of the evening.
Listen to: “Gone Blind” (It’s all the rave right now!)
Southwire
The sounds of Southwire exude the echoes of a post-church swing session, rapping hymn-like folk spirituals. Built by a timeworn piano, steady drumming, bluesy guitar, and a stand-up bass, the melodies are a mix of lyrical spoken word and hearty, booming vocals.
Fostered by a tightly-knit Duluth music scene, the band’s beginnings were both high contrast and closely woven. Fans of one anothers’ music, the impending members had contemplated isolated collaborations on a song or a recording with one anothers’ diverse styles. Two seemingly dissimilar influences folded into each other over half a decade ago when collaboration-eager Sean "Mic Trout" Elmquist and Ben "Burly Burlesque" Larson from experimental hip-hop group Crew Jones adjoined the traveled solo folk-gospel of Jerree Small to create the heavy folk of Southwire today. Their roots in the music industry combine to build a sound so distinct that their hip hop genre is subtle, more likely to be brought into conversation by knowing suggestion than apparent influence. Silk and leather, Small’s hauntingly beautiful vocals weave through the spoken word poems and “firebrand preaching” from Larson.
A March CityPages article cites the source of their traveled instruments, as Larson reminisces, "The piano you hear on the recording is a retired barroom upright I got free from a monk in Duluth [allegedly from Molly's Bar in Superior]," Small says. "I think its sour, creaking sound helped to expand my writing style and probably the style of the band too." Southwire will be hefting the soul of their sound on stage this Friday between The Ericksons and Chastity Brown.
Listen to: “God”
The Ericksons and Southwire will be rocking the mall this Friday, June 21st before powerhouse headliner Chastity Brown brings all her jazzy-bluesy-soulful country gospel to our outdoor stage. The night will be Americana at its core. Accompanying the homegrown acts will be free Raising Cane’s, concert giveaways, and a perfect summer evening on Northrop Plaza.
