americana Archives - The Filling Station

21+
Doors: 8pm, Show: 9pm

Cover: $10 in advance, $15 at the door

Strumbucket is a five-piece “twang-funk” band from Jackson, Wyoming known for their colorful multi-genre live shows. Drawing from a wide range of sounds, their original music weaves together funked bass grooves, banjo driven twang, latin beats, electro-psych synth lines, and classic rock guitar. Listening to the group’s offerings, one gets the sense that a good laugh is one piece of the puzzle that keeps the fun meter in check.

Forming in 2018, the band has grown outside the local Jackson music scene, playing everything from rowdy bar gigs to fun-filled community events, local venues to supporting acts such as JoJo Herman (Widespread Panic), DJ Williams’ Shot’s Fired, Polyrhythmics, and The Ghost of Paul Revere along the way.

The band consists of Peter Henderson (drums), Lavender Jones (bass, vocals), Grove Miller (keys), Pat Bottini (lead guitar), and Alex Blackwelder (banjo, lead vocals). The band released their first full length album, Hold On, I’m Strummin’, in July of 2022.

Strumbucket is influenced by the likes of The Meters, Little Feat, and one non-mainstream band for which they’re known to cover frequently, Ween.

Montana Booking Agency presents:

Tophouse

October 3, 2023

The Filling Station

Doors: 7 | Show: 8

$15 Advance | $20 Day of Show

TopHouse is a Montana-raised Americana/Folk band made up of Jesse Davis, Joe Larson, Will Cook, and Andy LaFave.

Created in 2015, the band began as a duo when two Music Composition majors at the University of Montana, guitarist/songwriter Jesse Davis and violinist William Cook, realized they loved playing music together and wanted to start – immediately. Lacking both a drummer and a singer, the first iteration of TopHouse was a virtuosity ‘Celtic folk’ instrumental duo with next-to-no connections. For about a year TopHouse performed in the bottom of parking garages in the cold Missoula air because “the reverb was cool.” William and Jesse eventually snuck their way into a local farmer’s market, and then moved onto the illustrious stardom of coffee shops, breweries, and weddings.

Joseph Larson, a singer, songwriter, and guitar/banjo player, joined the band in 2016. Joe wrote and performed songs, while Jesse’s songs like Where Are You and Summer Never Leaves – which, up to this point, had simply been instrumental violin pieces – finally came into their fullness. Joseph’s addition vaulted TopHouse to local fame, with the Missoulian naming TopHouse one the top 5 best new bands. Between 2017-2019 they released their self-produced EP Middle of Somewhere and their album Hopes & Fears while performing in festivals like the Bitterroot Celtic Festival, Avery Fest, and the Flathead Celtic Festival.

TopHouse moved to Nashville TN in October of 2019. They, like many musicians, were stranded at their shared home for most of 2020. During this year TopHouse wrote, recorded, and released their second album, Snapshot. When music city opened back up in 2021 TopHouse was invited to be the house band for Tennessee Brew Works and began performing in and around Nashville. After a difficult year of waiting and hoping, TopHouse prevailed, performing in events like the Local Show and going on their first official tours to Montana, Texas, and California.

In 2022 Andy LaFave the pianist joined TopHouse. Andy – an incredible songwriter and musician that regularly releases his own music under his solo project Don’t Dance – has performed with William and Joseph since childhood. With Andy’s help, TopHouse is working on their newest music release and will be ready to inspire the populace.