If you’ve been paying attention lately we’ve been all over Indy these past couple weeks. From museums to distilleries, taco pubs to garden tables…we’ve hit all our Indy favorites in Fountain Square and Mass Ave. So make no exception that when we do music, we like to be all over the up and coming, local, and talented musicians we can find.
This past Saturday, we found ourselves at the 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis. Before I go on, I should mention that I had not been to the 8 Second Saloon before. I’m typically a researcher, I like to at least have a small idea of the places I’m going to. I’m not sure why I didn’t in this case, or if I just had in mind a large bar with a stage. But that is not what I happened upon after walking through these doors. Holy line dancing and big spaces! This place isn’t just big, it’s ginormous! There’s pool tables…there’s a snack bar…there’s a stage…and smack dab in the middle…there’s a dance floor. A dance floor mind you that was filled with people line dancing. I should probably also mention, that I cannot line dance. It’s not like I haven’t tried before, but when it comes to dancing my brain and my feet do not speak the same lingo, no matter how many languages I try.
After fighting back the fear of seeing the dancing floor, and knowing that I was there with 2 women who should have dancing as their middle names, I resettled on the stage. Guitars…gloriously beautiful guitars were lined on stage left, just waiting for the lights to dim, the musicians to come on stage, and the artists to show us the magic of music. As a chef, one of the things I strive for hitting are food memories. Whether a dish I create, brings back a deeply cherished memory or someone is enjoying my food during a monumental moment. We live to invoke an emotion and our memories are embedded in sensory. Music does the same thing. It feeds the soul, and right from the beginning The Steel Woods had me hooked…all from a harmonica.
Ashley Wolfe, an amazingly talented musician, artist, actor, costumer designer and friend was kind enough to introduce us to the group. And though she completely raved about a number of things regarding the band before we got to the venue, one thing she mentioned that stuck out was praising the lyrics and the power behind them. This southern rock, bluegrass band is based out of Nashville, TN and when taking inspiration from the likes of Hanks Williams, Tom Petty & the Band, Blackfoot and a sprinkle of the Avett Brothers you are greeted with a sound the makes you feel and lyrics that make you think.
I’ve always been a huge fan of live music, but this is one of the first bands I’ve listened to in a while, where I just had to go home and play the record over repeatedly, lay on the floor (embrace your inner weirdness people!) and just enjoy what they had to say. From the very first song that started playing, I just wanted to stop what I was doing and actually listen. They have the kind of music that draws you in and I can’t wait to see what they do next. I’m not going to give a play by play on each song, we want you to check it out and see for yourself what it sparks in you.
This might be our first Listen Up edition, but it most certainly won’t be the last. So, let us know what you think, we hope that you love them as much as we did.
