Concert Preview: Stubborn Son
High Dive, Seattle, WA
11.03.17
It’s been a bit since we’ve heard from Stubborn Son, a local rock trio that brought their stripped-down sound to 2015’s full-length, Birthright, but the group is back—albeit with a few changes. For the release of their forthcoming Fortunes EP, Stubborn Son worked with Andy Park to evolve the five tracks from their blues-rock roots to something fresh yet intimately familiar.
Added layers of melody and heavy hooks give their sound a new groove that sits squarely between decades-old references and modern arrangements. “We plowed through records not only of sounds that we liked but sounds that felt natural to us,” says vocalist/guitarist Garrett Lamp. “The Arcs record was on heavy rotation for us as a great example of groovy songwriting and that led way to the production of Dirty Projectors, Alt-J and Tame Impala.”
In addition to their new sound, Stubborn Son is also transitioning from a trio to a duo with the loss of drummer Blair Daly to grad school. Their EP release show at High Dive will be both a preview of what’s to come and a sendoff to Daly’s beats. How are they making up for it? Bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Andrew Knapp notes that “We can’t exactly replace the energy of a live drummer so we have been getting creative in filling that space with a drum machine and keyboards in ways we hadn’t thought to do before.”
Catch their new mix of 80s synths, distinct vocals, and a gritty alt-rock edge Friday, November 3 for their Fortunes EP release and tour opener, with a little help from The Landmarks and Moon Dial in Seattle. Immediately after the release show, Stubborn Son will also be hitting the road for a 30-day tour that crisscrosses the US, all the way out to Nashville and back.
Fortunes Tour Fall 2017
11/3 – Seattle, WA @ The High Dive
11/4 – Spokane, WA @ The Observatory
11/5 – Helena, MT @ House Show
11/6 – Salt Lake City, UT @ RL Hotel
11/7 – Denver, CO @ 7th Circle
11/9 – Boulder, CO @ Laughing Goat
11/10 – Lawrence, KS @ Frank’s North Star
11/11 – St. Louis, MO @ Evangeline’s
11/13 – Nashville, TN @ The Crying Wolf
11/16 – New Orleans, LA @ Poor Boys
11/17 – Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlies
11/18 – Norman, OK @ Red Brick
11/20 – Santa Fe, NM @ Duel Brewing
11/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Lost Leaf
11/24 – Los Angles, CA @ The Mint
11/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Hotel Utah
11/29 – Tahoe, CA @ Cabo Wabo
11/30 – Medford, OR @Johnny B’s
12/2 – Boise, ID @ The Olympic
Preview by Stephanie Dore
