Passerine’s distinctive sound combines vocal harmonies, the crisp rhythms of an acoustic guitar, the haunting voices of the fiddle and dobro (resonator slide guitar), the resonant lows of an acoustic bass. With inventive vocal harmonies and song-writing, supported by the sounds of acoustic strings, Passerine offers a fresh take on traditional folk and bluegrass music as well as a repertoire of original songs that range from sweet ballads to the edgier side of contemporary Americana.
Molly Conrad opens the show at 8pm after our weekly open bluegrass jam at 6pm.
$5 Adv – $8 Door
Doors @ 6 PM (pre-show open jam)
Founded in 2009, Passerine has been featured at music festivals around the state and has been touring nationally since 2012, playing every sort of venue from intimate listening rooms to big festival stages. Their music occupies a zone somewhere between modern folk, progressive bluegrass, and what is loosely called “Americana.” With original songs as well as their own arrangements of traditional songs, Passerine hopes to carry on the living tradition of acoustic folk music rooted in popular experience, memory, and shared wisdom. In this quest, they have found inspiration across a wide musical spectrum: from Jimmy Rogers and Bill Monroe to Lucinda Williams and Old Crow Medicine Show; from Bob Dylan and Neil Young to Cracker and the Black Keys, from Kate Wolf and Nanci Griffith to Amy Winehouse and Neko Case. By combining diverse musical interests with instrumentation usually associated with a traditional string band, and with vocal harmonies that sometimes move outside the usual structures, Passerine has created a sound with a personality that is both familiar and unique, whether the song is a sweet ballad, a foot-stomping bluegrass tune, or one of their more rocking originals.
Molly Conrad was born and raised in Iowa, heavily involved in both theatre and music, but recently moved to Nashville, TN to pursue her passion in singing and songwriting. She has written over 70 songs, toured the midwest to celebrate the release of her studio album One-sided, and is preparing for an EP release and tour of southeast America this fall. After having played at over 50 venues in the U.S., Conrad is stoked to travel overseas for the first time and share her music with an entirely new audience in Germany through Songs and Whispers.
Her sound has been described as “refreshing” and “enchanting”; she continues to find new ways to use songwriting to express her thoughts, emotions, and humor.