April storms in with a trio branded “Brooklyn Country,” and Moviate and Matt Hickey are up to all sorts of good, promoting two hyper-experimental bands. Get passionate, get entranced, and don’t miss a drop of this music.
The Lone Bellow/York Capitol Strand/April 3/8 p.m./$24
The Lone Bellow is a trio triumph, featuring the harmonies of singer/writer Zach Williams, guitarist Brian Elmquist and mandolin player Kanene Pipkin. Their self-titled debut album is chock full of songs ablaze with passion and emotion, but very dissimilar to the country rock found in pop radio. “Teach Me to Know” is a harmonic masterpiece utilizing all three voices perfectly—although lyrically repetitive. The songs “Green Heart and a Heart of Gold” and “You Never Need Nobody” are stock favorites that will warm you to this Brooklyn band that is two parts The Lumineers (acoustic rock template), one part non-annoying Gavin Degraw (does that exist?), and a dash of Teitur (lyrically speaking).
Thollem McDonas & Brian Chase/The MakeSpace/April 4/8 p.m./$8 Cover
This is going to be a road trip into Avatar world—spacious, luscious and otherworldly. Thollem McDonas is an avant garde pianist pairing up with the drummer of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs in Brian Chase. Their album, “Dub Narcotic Session,” explores many a sonic landscape, sometimes shockingly together like freestyle jazz piano on top of punk-style drum playing. I’d say this kind of thing comes around Harrisburg once in a blue moon.
Koen Holtkamp/Little Amps Uptown/April 6/7 p.m./$5 Suggested Donation
Thanks Moviate for this one. Holtkamp, like the above duo, is difficult to define. He layers all manners of sounds—keyboards, wood blocks, rattles, etc.—to create hypnotic, contemplative musical poetry. “Haus Und Spirale Im Regen” is a 15-minute stretch of his more soothing material, while a song like “Walker” is layered with city sounds and ethereal voices, creating a scary dissonance. Grab a coffee and let your mind wander at this one.
Mentionables: The Martini Brothers, HMAC, April 19, starts at 8 p.m.; Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas, The Abbey Bar, April 27, starts at 4 p.m.; Prairie Empire & Anthonie Tonnon, The MakeSpace, April 30, starts at 8 p.m.
