The Bright Smoke + Pete Lanctot and the Stray Dogs + Ted Hefko and The Thousandaires + Dick Valentine @ The Way Station

8pm – The Bright Smoke

Genre: Indie-rock/blues

For fans of: PJ Harvey, My Brightest Diamond, Sharon Van Etten

Brooklyn-based The Bright Smoke aspires to create music with a dark edge and rock sentiment while adding noticeable blues undertones. Musicians Mia Wilson and Quincy Ledbetter hail from Illinois and Virginia respectively and present a captivating collection of eerie low-key vocals with harrowing melodies and rhythm accents. The duo combines a variation of tones, pulling influences from Patti Smith and Junior Kimbrough, to Leonard Cohen, to Cat Power and PJ Harvey, making the unique noir-blues sound that differentiates them from other bands of today.

“...music that touches on different genres (with) a captivating voice and lyrics that balance between despair and hope.” - Filter Magazine

“The vocals cut deep into you, with a strong piano back beat to keep you comfortable while the blood rushes out. Chills will ensue after listening to this.” - Velvet Rope Magazine

“This is without doubt some of the coolest new music that I have listened to in the last few years. The Bright Smoke is a band you will be hearing a lot about in 2014” - 50third and Third

www.thebrightsmoke.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bright-Smoke/407399432659970

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuIraArKHTI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbqoy9gxmuQ

https://soundcloud.com/thebrightsmoke-1

http://thebrightsmoke.bandcamp.com/

9pm- Pete Lanctot and the Stray Dogs

Genre: Experimental Folk Blues

For fans of: Tom Waits, John Cale, Ernest Tubb, The Mississippi Sheiks

New York Music Daily writes that, “Pete Lanctot personifies pretty much everything good about New York’s most happening music scene.” His songs are surreal and mysterious narratives featuring sordid casts of characters who’s origins are vague, and seem equally likely to be found in present day New York City, a Memphis juke joint of the 1920s or hitchhiking a depression era plains state highway. Steeped in American traditions of blues, folk and country. Backed by The Stray Dogs, a talented and versatile cast of musicians and improvisers Lanctot’s music is original, rabble rousing, heartbreaking and soul searching, always exploring the non-traditional without relying on reproduction.

www.peteandthestraydogs.com

10pm- Ted Hefko and The Thousandaires

Genre: Americana/Roots

For fans of: Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Trombone Shorty, Kermit Ruffins and The Barbecue Swingers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Galactic

Ted Hefko and The Thousandaires combine the urgency and spontanaity of jazz, with the gritty bare bones sensibility of early folk blues, and the vibrancy of New Orleans culture to bring life to original story songs. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Ted Hefko moved to New Orleans on a Greyhound Bus when he was 18 and fresh out of high school. He rode next to a Memphis call-girl, nearly twice his age, who entertained him with stories of the ins and outs of the business as they rode. From a home base in Brooklyn, NY, The Thousandaires tour a wide swath of the country from Thomas West Virginia, to Tulsa Oklahoma, and Kansas City Missouri.

“Follow that brooding Southern-fried piper dripping with sass and eloquence, and one song leads to another. There’s a little romance. Foot tapping quickly escalates to a slow dance with a sound match made somewhere between Dixieland and heaven.” — Dionne Charlet, Where Y’at

“A sonic breath of fresh air, entertaining and a nice slice of Americana roots music without every coming close to the self indulgent pitfalls more common today by most artists.” — Brent Black, Critical Jazz

“If I Walked On Water - has songs about trains, buses and taking steps to get some where you want to be. - They will make you laugh, dance and think.”-

Oscar Brooks - The Examiner

“Ted Hefko writes New Orleans inspired jazz that appeals to the NYC crowd. That’s a tall order, but he and his band, the Thousandaires, know how to make music that sounds upbeat, sophisticated, and fun while staying true to the spirit of New Orleans. Think of him as an urban Dr. John.” -Calvin Powers - Taproot Radio

www.ted.hefko.net

11pm- Dick Valentine

Genre: Solo acoustic

For fans of: I am the lead singer of Electric Six, but you could say I have some Roky Erikson, Tom Waits, Talking Heads in me.

Dick Valentine is best known as the frontman for Electric Six, but in the last few years he has been known to play solo acoustic sets both in the US and the UK. He has two solo albums, “Destroy The Children” and “Halloween Fingers” and his set consists of a healthy mix of songs from those albums as well as Electric Six songs performed acoustically. Requests are taken, drinks are consumed, and occasionally audience members can come up and sing backing vocals. Though originally from Detroit, Valentine has lived in Prospect Heights for 7 years and is excited about being able to walk 2 blocks to his gig at The Way Station.

“With many absurd lyrics and heartfelt, but rigorous acoustic guitar playing, this is a frontman’s acoustic set at its best” - The Yorker (York, UK)

“(Valentine) prefers not to think about it. Why push genius, anyway?” QRO Magazine

electricsix.com

https://www.facebook.com/dick.valentine.7