The highly anticipated Communion Residency returns to Smith’s Olde Bar in May, showcasing up-and-coming talent across multiple genres for an unforgettable night of music discovery. The lineup for the concert on May 10th includes BASECAMP, My Jerusalem, Day’Shawn Mojica and Sun Seeker.
The May Communion concerts will take place in 13 cities across the United States and will feature an eclectic mix of bands across several different genres, showcasing national touring bands alongside local acts.
A trio with musical influences that extend far beyond their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, BASECAMP came to fruition when the three producers joined forces to write. Quickly realizing there was a strong chemistry between them, the idea of BASECAMP immediately took hold. Deconstructing typical genre boundaries by utilizing haunting melodies, intensified by thumping bass lines and heavily percussive drums, BASECAMP effortlessly layer unpredictable tempo changes with elements of subtle glitch and organic strings. Releasing their standout debut EP in late 2013, tracks like ‘Emmanuel’ and ‘Smoke Filled Lungs’ instantly stole the attention of audiences and fellow artists alike, through the EP’s sophisticated combination of seductive vocals and irresistible R&B timbre. Now preparing to release their highly anticipated follow-up, the trio continue to mesh seemingly incongruous musical textures to create beautiful tension across their forthcoming record, ‘Greater Than’. More introspective than the last EP, the result is a record full of dark, brooding tones, heartfelt melodies and body shuddering bass echoed with sweeping cellos and inflections of ghostly guitars that expertly mirror the real-life experiences of their creators. Universally relatable with burning lyrics and a fully realized musicianship that can’t be faltered, this promises to be an exciting new chapter of the eclectic BASECAMP narrative.
Jeff Klein founded My Jerusalem in 2010 after several years of being a touring musician in critically acclaimed bands The Twilight Singers and The Gutter Twins. Originally conceived as a collective, My Jerusalem really hit their stride in 2013 with the release of Preachers, their second full length album (The End Records). Recorded in under three weeks by Spoon drummer Jim Eno, Preachers fully encapsulates the sound of the band and was released to rave reviews. My Old Kentucky Blog premiered the album in its entirety, calling out Klein’s “smokey baritone vocals.” The Austin Chronicle said, “The band soaks romantic obsession in a cinematic pool of brooding rock.” My Jerusalem have toured extensively with a variety of artists including Courtney Love, Spoon, Peter Murphy, Heartless Bastards and The Lemonheads amongst many others.
Sun Seeker started out as Stripes when all the members were still cherubic high-school doughboys. They were inspired by the likes of Wilco, Real Estate, The Band, and local Nashville rock and roll to ditch their adolescent softness and evolve into a bigger machine complete with ornate riffage and backbone-solid rhythm. Lyrically, lead singer, Alex Benick muses on lost relationships, death, and losing faith in God at Wave Country. Musically, the band symphonically structures individualistic instrumentation around the impeccable kick drum of Ben Parks, which beats more in time than the human heart. Sun Seeker will make you fall in love, then break up with you, then have break-up sex with you, then have a long conversation with you over coffee after which all will be laid to rest and your friendship will be strong as ever, after which you will both call each other on birthdays and get together when in you are both in town, having grown in different directions perhaps, but still just as amorous and appreciative.
Full lineups, dates, and ticketing information can be found at www.communionmusic.com.
