GA-20
Opening with the CarLeans
Saturday, October 7
Show: 8p | Doors: 7p
Tickets: $20 advance / $25 door
($2 Service Charge Included With Online Tickets. All sales are final, no ticket refunds or exchanges. Seats are on a first-come, first-serve basis, and seats are not guaranteed with ticket purchase.)
GA-20 clearly is on to something big. It’s a movement, a new traditional blues revival. The dynamic, throwback blues trio are disciples of the place where traditional blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll intersect. “We make records that we would want to listen to,” says guitarist Matt Stubbs. “It’s our take on the song-based traditional electric blues we love.” Stubbs, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman have been at the forefront of this traditional blues revival since they first formed in 2018. It’s no wonder they skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard Blues Chart.
According to Stubbs, “Since we started the band we’ve focused on the story, the melody, and on creating a mood. Playing live as much as we do, we’re finding more and more that people are discovering how cool it all is. Traditional country, soul and funk music have all had these massive recent revivals, but traditional blues so far has not.” With their new Colemine album, Crackdown, and an intensive tour schedule, that’s all about to change.
On Crackdown, GA-20’s third full-length release, the band creates an unvarnished, ramshackle blues that is at once traditional and refreshingly modern. Expanding on their previous releases (2019’s Lonely Soul and 2021’s Try It…You Might Like It! GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor) GA-20 finds inspiration on the edges of the genre, where early electric blues first converged with country and rock ‘n’ roll. The album’s nine original songs include the loping, Louisiana-flavored Dry Run, the dirty, and bare-bones Easy On The Eyes and the melodic, garage-tinged Fairweather Friend. With tight, propulsive performances and a brevity and punk energy reminiscent of The Ramones, Crackdown is rowdy and fun, filled with instantly memorable, and well-crafted songs.
The CarLeans are a musical collaboration between singer-songwriters Jim Carpenter (guitar, vocals), Sarah MacLean (guitar, vocals) and Rachel MacLean-Sargent (vocals). Along with bassist Corina Malbaurn, the Connecticut-based quartet blend their diverse musical backgrounds to create a captivating sound that had been garnering much attention from New England to Florida to Texas. Their vast repertoire adapts well to the various regions they tour through (folk, cajun, latin, and americana) . . . at once narrative, humorous, raw and powerful. Jim's percussive, driving guitar joins with Malbaurn’s equally solid upright bass to lay groove for the MacLean twin's soulful, commanding voices. The performance is at once a gritty, emotional whisper; dynamic sibling harmony, and a stunning R&B confession . . . offset by a sudden comical exchange and inevitably inciting the audience to its feet to dance.
The CarLeans have had the good fortune to perform at such esteemed venues as the Infinity Hall CT, Daryl's House NY, Awendaw Barn, SC, The Narrows, MA, Isis Music Hall NC, Skinny Pancake VT, Saxon TX, Neutral Ground LA, Katharine Hepburn Theater CT, Good Stuff NC, Prohibition FL, Eugene O'Neil Theater CT and Osippee Music Fest ME . . . sharing the stage with The Subdudes, Mipso, Marcia Ball, Hurrah for Riff Raff, Chris Ross, Donna the Buffalo and Birds of Chicago.