2017 THURSDAY JAMS BRING A 5TH YEAR OF FREE CONCERTS TO DOWNTOWN ABINGDON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 16, 2017

 

2017 THURSDAY JAMS BRING A 5^TH YEAR OF FREE CONCERTS TO DOWNTOWN ABINGDON

Abingdon, VA – Abingdon’s popular summer music series, Thursday Jams, returns to the Market Pavilion for a fifth year of fantastic – and free! - concerts. The Thursday Jams series showcases a wide range of nationally recognized bands at the Abingdon Market Pavilion each Thursday evening, May 18 – July 20, 2017.  Presented by Blue Ridge Beverage and the Abingdon Music Experience, the concerts are free and open to the public; a beer garden will be provided by Abingdon Main Street, and local food vendors will be on hand.

Thursday Jams kicks off May 18^th with the Polyrhythmics, the Seattle-based band that’s redefining funk for the 21^st Century. The series also includes Americana bands like Forlorn Strangers or Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellies, blues phenom Eric Gales, the Australian hip-hop band Jakubi and many others.  For a full listing of musical acts and dates, visit www.abingdonmusicexperience.com.

This summer will mark the 5^th annual Thursday Jams series, which drew thousands of locals and visitors last year. The series is presented by Blue Ridge Beverage, and sponsored in part by Bank of Marion, EAV Express, Eastman Credit Union, First Community Bank, State Farm agent Jamie Barger and Universal Fibers. This year Thursday Jams also received one of the first Festival Sponsorships from Virginia Tourism Corporation.

Music will begin 7:00 pm each Thursday at the Abingdon Market Pavilion, with a beer garden benefitting Abingdon Main Street opening at 6:30 pm. A variety of food truck and local vendors will be on hand offering concessions.  The events are family-friendly, and attendees are encouraged to bring their chairs and or blankets to enjoy the shows. No outside alcohol is allowed.

The series will host a variety of musical genres including Americana, southern rock, country, indie folk, soul and funk.  Bands performing during Thursday Jams have also appeared at internationally-recognized festivals like Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Floyd Fest, and Bonnaroo as well as Jimmy Kimmel Live and Music City Roots. Local talent will open each Thursday for the headliners, who will start their sets at 8pm.

Abingdon Music Experience is now in its fifth year of presenting live music in Abingdon.  Other programs include January Jams at Barter Theatre, Main Street Busker Fest September 2nd, and a new annual event, Virginia Creeper Fest (April 29, 2017). 

For a full listing of musical acts and dates, visit www.abingdonmusicexperience.com. For more information, call 276-676-2282 or email Event Coordinator Sara Saavedra at ssaavedra@abingdon-va.gov.

Thursday Jams 2017 Lineup

5/18/17  Polyrhythmics

Seattle’s Polyrhytmics have made a name for themselves with the 2015 release of a critically acclaimed 7” dubbed The Killion Sessions, a series of high profile shows in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and Jazzfest, followed closely by the release of their third full length album Octagon.  On the heels of a heavy touring cycle, the collective continues to evolve and mature into muscular live unit apt to painting vivid instrumental imagery using complex rhythms and a unique precision that is redefining the term “funk” for 21^st century audiences.  

5/25/17 Aaron Lee Tasjan 

East Nashville-based musician Aaron Lee Tasjan has always considered himself a songwriter first and foremost, writing his own off-kilter folk-inflected songs since he picked up his first acoustic as a teen guitar prodigy. His most recently released Silver Tears offers a glimpse through the eyes of one gifted songwriter and versatile musician. Whether playing guitar in the late incarnation of riotous glam-rock innovators the New York Dolls, the gender-bending, envelope-pushing sleaze n’ tease arena rock band Semi Precious Weapons, the Neil Young-signed alt-country act Everest, British roots rock band Alberta Cross, Southern rock stalwarts Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ or even as frontman of the devilishly cleverly-named Heartbreakers meets Replacements rockers Madison Square Gardeners,  offer a glimpse through the eyes of one gifted songwriter and versatile musician. 

6/1/17 Jakubi 

Jakubi is a Melbourne-based band composed of two brothers, two cousins and one friend whose love for producing music brought them together and whose pure talent propelled them forward. Jakubi’s unique flavor stems from an irresistible combination of jangly guitars, hip-hop beats and sailing synth rhythms. Flawlessly melding the sounds of a talk box one minute and reggae-inspired guitar the next, the band’s infectious experimental songs are guaranteed to get everyone dancing. 

6/8/17 The Broadcast 

Three decades from now, a documentary filmmaker in search of his next rockumentary will come across The Broadcast and realize he’s hit gold. The story of the rock and soul outfit not only comes with its own high-octane soundtrack, it hits on all the key points: Challenges are overcome, miles are logged, performances are slain and an oft-jaded music industry is enticed. There’s dancing. There’s a love story. ith a mix of soul, blues and classic rock arrangements, The Broadcast has shared stages with Mavis Staples, John Prine, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, The Wood Brothers, Brandi Carlisle, Keller Williams, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, George Porter Jr. (Funky Meters), Betty LaVette, Charles Bradley and Holly Williams, among others. 

6/15/17 Forlorn Strangers 

Joined by opening band: Missy Raines & The New Hip 

Forlorn Strangers is a Nashville, TN based Americana quintet, with members hailing from the great states of Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania & Minnesota. The band is comprised of five songwriters, each having their own distinct sounds & styles that blend into one cohesive voice. Their music is rooted in family harmonies & flavored with guitars, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, & foot stomping percussion. The band is comprised of sisters Abigail Dempsey (fiddle, percussion, vocals) and Hannah Dempsey Lusk (mandolin, percussion, vocals); along with Chris Banke (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Benjamin Lusk (banjo, guitar, vocals), and Jesse Thompson (upright bass, dobro, guitar, vocals). Since 2013, Forlorn Strangers has released two EPs (While the Grass Grows and American Magic Tricks) and has toured continuously across the United States, playing for an ever increasing group of appreciative fans. 

6/22/17 The Marcus King Band 

Songwriter. Guitarist. Singer. Bandleader.  At only 20 years of age, Marcus King’s dazzling musical ability is evident throughout The Marcus King Band, the young phenom’s 2^nd full-length LP and first for Fantasy Records.  Operating within the fiery brand of American roots music that King calls "soul-influenced psychedelic southern rock," the album highlights King’s gorgeous, rough-hewn vocals, soaring guitar work and heartfelt songwriting all amidst a group of masterful musicians who, together, are quickly becoming one of the country’s most sought after live acts.  

6/29/17 Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys 

In 2009 The Flatbellys recorded Get ‘Round in a house on Foster Ave in Lansing, MI. Flatbelly mandolinist, Josh and Spencer, Flatbelly bassist, joined a local bluegrass band, and I left the country for my last semester of college. When I returned I had an album’s worth of material and convinced the two remaining Flatbellys, and a handful of other Michigan musicians, to help me record it. We called it Lindsay Lou - A Different Tune.  

7/6/17 Eric Gales 

Blues guitar phenom Eric Gales was born and raised in Memphis, learning to play at age four from older brothers Eugene and Manuel in imitation of their upside-down, left-handed style (a tradition actually passed down from their grandfather, Dempsey Garrett Sr., who was known to jam with the likes of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf). Winning his first blues contest at 11, four years later Eric signed to Elektra to issue his 1991 debut LP, recorded with Eugene on bass; Picture of a Thousand Faces followed in 1993. Manuel (who previously performed under the alias Little Jimmy King) reunited with his siblings for 1995's Left Hand Band, credited to the Gales Brothers. 

7/13/17 Brent Cobb 

Just off of his tour in support of Chris Stapleton, Brent Cobb and his band join us in Abingdon, VA for a free show downtown at the Abingdon Market Pavilion. Brent Cobb didn’t set out to write an album that feels and sounds like the place he grew up. But now that the grooves have been cut in his debut LP, Shine on Rainy Day, there’s no denying the people, the places and the vibe of his southcentral Georgia home infuse almost every song. 

7/20/17 Look Homeward 

Look Homeward is a band of brackish brethren hailing from the piedmont of North Carolina. Lee Anderson (guitar, vocals), Alex Bingham (upright bass), Evan Ringel (trombone, fiddle) and Wilson Greene IV (banjo) pair the Appalachian drawls and passionate picking of venerated field recordings with the soul tones of Atlantic beaches and boggy bayous. Marrying banjos with brass, the quartet celebrates the American South in a mingling of old and new, traditional yet surprising. Add honest folk songwriting and the result is music that just might sound like home, wherever you’re from.  

For an online press kit, including high-res photos and full band bios, click here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/70acnhkgoo0db58/AAAa2uY2sautNnyoZIaEDgeya?dl=0

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