Proud Larry's to Feature Blues, Rock and Cosmic Americana

The Kenny Brown Band and indie rockers The Districts will headline the live-music bill this weekend at Proud Larry’s.
The Kenny Brown Band will perform on Friday night, Dec. 1, while Sun Seeker and Harpooner open for The Districts on Saturday night, Dec. 2.
Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show starts at 9 p.m. on both nights.
Tickets for the Kenny Brown Band performance are $5. Tickets for Saturday night’s three-band show are $10 and $15.
Friday night’s headliner, Kenny Brown, grew up in Nesbit and has studied the Mississippi hill country blues most of his life. Influenced by bluesmen like Junior Kimbrough, Fred McDowell and R.L. Burnside, he started playing guitar with Burnside’s band when he was just 18 years old. Burnside often referred to Brown as his “adopted son.”
The sound gets a little edgier on Saturday night, with three rock bands taking the stage, starting with Harpooner, a Bloomington, Indiana trio fronted by Scott Schmadeke. Their first full-length album, “Rose Park,” pays homage to the work of artists like Leon Russell, Harry Nilsson and Paul McCartney and Wings. Their earlier EP, “Speed,” even featured a solid cover of Wings’ “Let ‘Em In.”

The Nashville-based Sun Seeker, meanwhile, released its debut EP, “Biddeford,” following up on a 2016 single called “Georgia Dust.” Their unhurried breed of Cosmic American music explores nostalgia, melancholy and emotional turmoil via laidback psychedelia, tight harmonies and a country-rock spirit.

The trio of friends—guitarist/vocalist Alex Benick, bassist/vocalist Asher Horton and drummer/vocalist Ben Parks—have been collaborating in one way or another since the eighth grade before forming Sun Seeker in January 2013. The band quickly became a favorite on the Nashville scene and even earned a review from an NPR critic, who wrote: “Inspired by The Band and Pavement, Sun Seeker blends Southern whimsy and fuzzy, melodic rock.”

Citing influences like the Velvet Underground and shoegaze, Saturday night’s headliner, The Districts, just released their third album, “Popular Manipulations,” featuring charging guitars, thunderous drumming and lead singer Rob Grote’s searing vocals.

The band’s lyrics explore weighty themes of isolation, abandonment and the aftermath of divorce.
Grote said the title of the record touches on these universal themes. “It hints at how people use each other, for good or bad, and the personal ways you manipulate yourself and other people in day-to-day interactions.”

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Compiled by Rick Hynum, editor-in-chief of HottyToddy.com. Email him at rick.hynum@hottytoddy.com.