Doors @ 7pm
Show @ 8pm
All Ages
Despite the name, Matt the Electrician is no longer an electrician, focusing instead on a music career that has spanned the course of two decades, a dozen records, and thousands of shows. His music, however, remains rooted in his blue collar beginnings, with lyricism that embraces the day-to-day, the mundane, the beauty of the ordinary.
Before moving to Austin, TX and launching his career as a working-class folk musician, Matt Sever grew up on the West Coast. His parents played John Denver and Pete Seeger songs on the family record player, and Matt spent his earliest years surrounded by the things that would later fill his own music: acoustic guitars, timeless melodies, lyrics that celebrated the joys and heartaches of everyday life, and — above all else — a strong work ethic.
That work ethic served him well in the mid-1990s, when he moved to Austin in search of new horizons and better opportunities. Matt was already playing music by then, and in need of a steady day job, he began working as an electrician, spending his days wiring houses in the Texas heat. Once quitting time came, he'd grab his guitar and drive himself to an evening show, usually taking the stage in his work boots and sweaty clothes. "Hi; I'm Matt the Electrician," he'd tell the crowd, hoping his occupation would help explain his appearance. The name stuck, even after his growing fan base at home, as well as abroad, allowed him to hang up his pliers for good.
Matt’s most recent release, a double CD called The Doubles, is the culmination of a 2-year vinyl 45 collaborative project.
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West Texas-born Sydney Wright grew up learning and loving music, and she has cultivated a sound that is entirely her own. With a spectrum of influences ranging from early Coldplay, Kimbra, church hymns, and cultures of music that she studied for her UNT degree concentration in Ethnomusicology, it’s a wonder knowing she has said that most of her songs start out as country tunes. Drawing heavily from poly-rhythms, with loops of piano, guitar, beatbox and doo-wops, her performing skills are practiced and mesmerizing, with an impressive knack for creating and looping tracks during live performances. Even listening to just one song off her new debut album, her raw artistry, vulnerability and songwriting prowess speaks volumes. Followers of Sydney’s work are always braced to be surprised, as she has shown time and again that there’s more to her than meets the eye.
After studying piano and picking up the guitar at age 15, Wright quickly found herself writing and collaborating on breakup songs with her friends in high school. Creating songs was a way to connect with people that made her feel useful and heard. After graduating, Wright left home to study Ethnomusicology and live sound reinforcement. When she's not on stage, Wright is behind the console mixing performances as a live sound engineer. Her mastery of the physics of sound is apparent in her presence onstage and in the studio.
Since the success of her debut album ‘Seiche’, Sydney Wright has been hard at work, releasing new music that shows off a different side of the resilient crooner. “Tenderfoot” is a balls-out blues rock banger that features Sydney’s guitar skills as much as her voice. “DANGER,” on the other hand (recorded with Austin-based Columbian-funk band, Superfónicos) is a funky, rhythm driven dance song that features a gaita solo that would make Ron Burgundy blush. Her latest single-release, ‘Home’ is an ode to her upbringing in small-town Snyder, Texas, and to the ‘people and moments that make us feel like we belong.’ With this wide variety of exciting material coming at us so fast, there’s no telling what will come next for Sydney Wright, and I think that’s just how she likes it.
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Despite the nickname, Akina Adderley is much more than “the little woman with the big voice.” A rock/soul vocalist, songwriter, bandleader, arranger, and producer based in Austin, Texas, Adderley’s music reflects both her modern rock ‘n roll sensibility and her deep jazz roots. Margaret Moser (Austin Chronicle) wrote, “Jazz is in Akina Adderley’s blood, and it flows with a warm mix of old-school soul and R&B.” Akina’s father is acclaimed jazz pianist and arranger Nat Adderley, Jr. (long-time bandleader for Luther Vandross), and her grandfather and granduncle were venerated jazz musicians: cornetist Nat Adderley, Sr. and alto saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (Miles Davis, Kind of Blue). While their towering musical legacy flows through her, Akina’s artistry is all her own. Adderley grew up in New York City and lived in both New York and Los Angeles before settling in Austin, collecting sounds along the way to weave with her musical DNA — resulting in her dynamic, unique style.
Akina’s music crackles with infectious grooves and incisive lyrics, but live performances bring that heat to a whole other level. Audiences “instantly fall for her dynamism and her superstar performance,” says Laurie Gallardo of KUTX-FM, moved by what the Austin American-Statesman calls her “rich, emotive pipes.” Drawing comparisons to Tina Turner and Sharon Jones, Akina’s stage presence is captivating and electrifying. Akina has performed across the country, sharing bills with Booker T., Budos Band, and Big Sam’s Funky Nation, as well as with Austin favorites Gary Clark, Jr., Jackie Venson, Shinyribs, Bright Light Social Hour, Bob Schneider, Alejandro Escovedo, and Carolyn Wonderland. She is a featured backing vocalist on recordings by Charlie Mars, James McMurtry, and Gregg Rolie (Santana and Journey), among others. Akina has produced two albums and toured extensively with her 8-piece soul band, Akina Adderley & The Vintage Playboys, and released an EP and two full-length records with nu-jazz group Nori. A local Austin favorite, Akina is a Black Fret artist, a songwriter with The House of Songs, and was honored in 2012 by the mayoral proclamation of Akina Adderley Day in Austin.
Akina is also a proud educator (another passion woven into her DNA); she’s the Music Director at Griffin School, was a long-time instructor and band coach at Girls Rock Camp, conducts musicals for the Adderley Repertory Theatre Ensemble, and teaches private voice lessons.
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Bruce Hughes grew up in Austin, Texas and has been ubiquitous since the 80's, working as a bassist, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer, making records and music that move.
A founding member of Austin bands Poi Dog Pondering, Ugly Americans, the Scabs and the Resentments, he continues to be one of the town’s most visible and versatile musicians. Catch him playing regularly in Austin and around the country with Bob Schneider, The Resentments, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Poi Dog Pondering, Fastball and Sly Curtis. Voted Bass Player of the Year in both the 2008 and 2015 Austin Music Awards, Bruce has also been the musical director of the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame since 2013.
Bruce joined Jason Mraz’s Superband during Jason’s massive 2008-’09 worldwide tour for We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Check out Jason Mraz’s Beautiful Mess: Live on Earth DVD. It's a stellar capture of a stellar time!
Bruce likes to help people make records - take a listen to projects for Johnny Nicholas, The Resentments, The Scabs, Matt the Electrician, Poi Dog Pondering, Geoff Muldaur and the Texas Sheiks, and UK’s Jonathan Whiskerd,
Bruce’s previous solo works Bluebird (2006), shorty (2008), BHANA (2010), Trap Door (2013) and Christmas Street (2018) are all available everywhere you get your music.