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FREE First Friday Concert feat. Milkdrive w/ Nick Verzosa And The Noble Union, Larynx & Daniel Gonzales
August 2, 2013 @ 5:30 pm - 11:55 pm
Grand Stafford Theater presents: First Friday Free Concert Series:
5 PM – Doors open
5:30 PM – Daniel Gonzales
7 PM – Nick Verzosa & The Noble Union
8:30 PM – Milkdrive
10 PM – Larynx
MILKDRIVE
Jazz-grass band MilkDrive features award-winning instrumentalists Brian Beken on fiddle and lead vocals, Noah Jeffries on guitar and harmony vocals, Dennis Ludiker on mandolin and harmony vocals, and Matt Mefford on double bass. But awards reveal nothing about the Austin string band’s exhilarating sound. Fueled by equal parts tradition and innovation, MilkDrive delivers a distinctive acoustic experience that crosses genres, geographies, and generations.
The band’s much-anticipated sophomore studio album WAVES, produced by Bil VornDick, was released in June 2012. Capturing the band’s sophisticated arrangements and fierce musicianship, the album showcases a number of original compositions and features guests Noam Pikelny (of Punch Brothers) and Futureman (of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones).
Dennis Ludiker, Brian Beken and Noah Jeffries met as youngsters competing in the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest in Weiser, Idaho. Eventually they migrated to Austin, where they toured with an eclectic mix of bands and honed their songwriting chops before joining up with bass player extraordinaire Matt Mefford and forming MilkDrive.
In June 2009, the band recorded and released a live album, MILKDRIVE LIVE ’09, which spotlights the band’s vigorous picking technique and charismatic writing style. Their debut studio album ROAD FROM HOME, released in April 2011, combines haunting ballads with their signature instrumentals – “achieving a rootsy feel with a sophisticated edge,” as reviewer Graham Robertson put it. “A fantastic canvas for solo work.”
Andrew Dansby of the Houston Chronicle calls the MilkDrive repertoire “a virtuosic blast of bluegrassy string-band music.” With labels that range from jamgrass and nu-folk to redneck gypsy jazz, the band has built a following that’s as funky and friendly as they are. The group plays festivals from coast to coast every year, with stops in between at Colorado’s beloved RockyGrass Festival and at home at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Milkdrive on Facebook | Milkdrive on Twitter | Official Website
NICK VERZOSA AND THE NOBLE UNION
NVNU was the 1st winner of the Thirsty Throwdown Battle of the Bands Competition held over 3 months in the historic Ft. Worth Stockyards during the summer of 2012.
They competed with 12 bands selected from the venue’s top draws over the previous 2 years for over $12,000 in cash and prizes including the recording, mixing, mastering and manufacturing of the first “Live at Thirsty Armadillo” record.
The album was engineered and produced by Lubbock music man, Jon Taylor, and the band’s frontman/singer/songwriter, Nick Verzosa at Mount Vernon Studios in Lubbock, TX.
Staunchly independent, Nick has proven to be that necessary mix of pure talent, hard work and personality required to dig deep roots into the always competitive Texas music market and shows the ability to spread his branches outside the state lines as well. Averaging 4 shows a week is nothing uncommon for he and his 4 piece band of talented musicians as they continue to impress and entertain a constantly growing fan-base. His strong belief in working hard for what you want is self-evident in his road-warrior mentality, still finding time to vigilantly hone his songwriting craft, what he would tell you is his true passion.
Nick Verzosa & The Noble Union on Facebook
LARYNX
After humble beginnings in the small town of College Station, Texas the Band now known as “Larynx Music” began what they thought would be a slow and steady growing process. Playing their original music at various open mic nights, and other events in the college town home of Texas A&M University, Larynx’s music went viral and made it way across the map… On Monday August 20, 2012 Larynx Music recorded their first single “The One” along with “Circles” for their First EP ” Cosmic Love ” at ” New Fiction Studios” in Dallas, Texas with Producer Bryan David. This platform propelled their music off the ground like never before… Larynx Music seeks to inspire and to make the listener feel the pleading vocals, and thoughtful arrangements of every song. Their music will surely tap at you heart until you let them in.
Larynx on Facebook | Larynx on Twitter | Official Website
DANIEL GONZALES
Daniel Gonzales is a singer/songwriter out of Dallas, TX currently living in College Station. Playing with a full band for the first time at this show and with an upcoming EP to be released later this Spring.