FREE First Friday Concert feat. Ghosts Along The Brazos w/ The O’s & Votary

Grand Stafford Theater presents: First Friday Free Concert Series:

8 PM – Doors open
8:30 PM – The O’s
9:45 PM – Ghosts Along The Brazos
11:15 PM – The Votary

GHOSTS ALONG THE BRAZOS

If you’re listening at all, you’ll never shake the sound. It’s honest – real music played by real people. The melodies will inspire, the words may haunt, and the rhythm will undoubtedly have you miles away from your chair. The music is undeniable – nothing short of a genuine celebration, bubbling up from the cracks in the street like west Texas oil.

The band is The Ghosts and the idea is simple: Play and write music that you believe in, and others will believe in it too. Don’t inflate it with smoke and mirrors, and don’t water it down in search of conventional success. Play what speaks to your heart, and it will speak to theirs too. It’s been less than a year since The Ghosts arrived on the Austin, TX scene, and they’ve quickly charmed their way into the hearts and minds of a town steeped in timeless American music, and not always quick to shower praise.

You will surely dance, you will often laugh, and you will inevitably be awed by the musical prowess of twenty-somethings playing far beyond their years.

Katie Holmes is the newest Ghost and is a welcome addition, bringing not only her exceptional fiddling ability but also her singing and songwriting to the group. Connor Forsyth on Piano and Hammond B3 is a wunderkind, a player that truly commands attention. As a member of another young Austin favorite, The Belleville Outfit, he honed his chops touring the country, and now splits his time between the Ghosts and the legendary Ray Price’s touring band. You may also recognize bassist Kristopher Wade and guitarist Gregory Harkins from one of Austin’s brightest swing/jazz outfits, The Marshall Ford Swing Band, and the interplay between Forsyth, Harkins, and Wade might well be worth the price of admission alone. Drummer James Gwyn rounds out the 5-piece, another in-demand young Austinite who splits his time touring with country legend, Junior Brown.

Together, The Ghosts are on a journey. And if you’re in earshot, you’re probably coming with them. They’re a veritable force, a band with contagious energy, churning out a joyful noise with obvious glee. That’s what the commotion is all about, that’s the celebration, and wherever The Ghosts are tonight, that’s what you’ll find.

Ghosts Along The Brazos on Facebook | Ghosts Along The Brazos on Twitter | Official Website

THE O’S

We started our group in the summer of 2008, and after having known each other through all of our other groups (Polyphonic Spree, Young Heart Attack, Slick 57, Rose County Fair, Hi-Fi Drowning, etc), it was an easy upstart and took no time jumping in head first. We both had songs that we felt needed to be played but no band to use as an outlet. Three months later, we entered the recording studio and recorded an EP which ended up being half of our first album “We Are The O’s” (2009 Idol Records).

We have since toured relentlessly all across the US, UK, Europe, and even jaunted to Hawaii, hi-fiving friends and fans alike; just trying to keep ourselves out on the road and creating new music for good people. In 2011, we recorded our second album with the Grammy award winning Stuart Sikes. Entitled “Between The Two,” we decided to play every instrument on the album and had Stuart man the helm. It was liberating and excited and brought us further than we had been before.

We hit the road again jumping back and forth across the great ponds, made music videos, bought and broke vans, bought and broke gear, ate poorly, ate well, had fun and not so much fun, met amazing people, learned a lot about life, forgot a lot of things, slept a little, bought and wore out hundreds of pairs of pants and shirts, resoled our cowboy boots countless times, played with incredible artists, performed on TV shows, talk shows, radio shows, festivals, clubs, bars, restaurants, several different countries and continents, swam in clear water, dredged through the gulf, and other countless, endless adventures to name.

We did this all as we have always, to make good music for good people.
And into the future we go with “Thunderdog”, our third studio album to be released in July 23, 2013. We decided to record the majority of the new album, at the recommendation of our great producer, Chris “Frenchie” Smith, in Tornillo, TX at the legendary Sonic Ranch Studio. It’s a state of the art, top notch studio where we could stay on site, eat on site, and record without distractions (other than the delicious Sonic Ranch “Salsa de Roja” that lead to many debates on whether or not anything would taste good without it afterwords…) We finished up the album at The Bubble in Austin, TX and look forward to getting it out the door and into everyone’s hands!

See you folks on the other side and we look forward to the ride.

The O’s on Facebook | The O’s on Twitter | Official Website

VOTARY

Votary is a four-piece pop band hailing from College Station, TX. Votary began as an acoustic trio in a dorm at Texas A&M University. After performing at coffee houses and open mic venues for a year, Votary introduced two new members and became the full band that performs today. Soon after becoming a full band, Votary won the Texas A&M Battle of the Bands competition and quickly began gaining popularity in the College Station area. Votary is currently recording their first album which is set to be released in the Spring of 2013. Votary’s sound has been compared to Ben Rector, Parachute, and Ben Folds. The bands current lineup is: Jack Thweatt-Vocals/Guitar, Travis Thompson-Keyboards, Michael Burgess-Bass, Conner Wright-Drums. Some of Votary’s past shows include: Tri-Delta Gameday at Wolf Pen Creek, Theta Fiesta, Elephant Walk at TAMU, and Relay for Life.

Votary on Facebook