Brianna Skye, Julia Francis, Kelsey Sprague, Aline & Wes at the Skylark in West Seattle
WINGS AND THINGS Take flight with these powerful musical acts of wonder and transformation. COSTUMES AND EMBELLISHMENTS ENCOURAGED: whether you're a bird, a dragon, faery or butterfly, we look forward to catching air with you and rising to a higher plane through rocking, celebratory music.
Doors at 7:30, Show at 8 21+ and $8 cover
8pm Aline & Wes 8:45 The Kelsey Sprague Band 9:30 Julia Francis 10:30 Brianna Skye & the Dark Clouds
BRIANNA SKYE & THE DARK CLOUDS If you like cats and guitars, this is for you! Brianna Skye & The Dark Clouds is growing in popularity on the west coast. They capture new audiences constantly by holding the attention of everyone through creative pop rock melodies
JULIA FRANCIS There are some voices that wilt against the howling wind. Some voices that can’t rise above the clamor of clinking glasses and lustful patrons. But Julia Francis does not have just some voice. Hers, which rides the exquisite sonic swells of her band, is a voice like a muscle car screeching down a stretch of rainy midnight road. Julia and her band (Darren Loucas, Mark Lutwak, Mike Peterson, Bobby Heinemann) harken to the formation days of rock ‘n’ roll and soulful blues music. With mind clearing guitar solos and pronounced rhythmic strolls, the music, like a bursting cloud, washes out the gutters of one’s own mind time and time again. And while it’s nearly impossible not to picture the great Janis Joplin when you hear Francis tear into a mic, there is more than sweet homage embedded in the songs and epic vocal performances. There is relationship and pain, bridges and waves, sunsets and daydreams in the front woman’s tone, whether she is reinterpreting classic roots or sharing brand new compositions on her guitar, Positive Annie. Julia has a new EP releasing in June 2020 titled 'When You Get What You Want, produced by Steve Fisk and recorded at Avast Studios. The wisdom in Julia’s music teaches listeners new ways to believe in that which you can’t always see. www.juliafrancis.com
THE KELSEY SPRAGUE BAND Seattle is a city famous for its rain. There's nothing like stepping outside to a foggy morning in the Northwest and being able to see your breath dissolve into the air. And nothing captures that feeling better than a good song. Kelsey Sprague, with only her voice and an acoustic guitar, manages to convey everything beautiful and simultaneously desperate about the constant mist, relieved by the occasional spike of sunshine. With influences ranging from classics like Patsy Cline and Connie Francis to more contemporary names such as Josh Ritter, Jenny Lewis, and Camera Obscura, Kelsey manages to take familiar sounds and make them her own. With a sound that captures both vulnerability and independence, it expresses a world weariness and a wide eyed wonder that will make you feel like you're stepping outside, watching your own breath disappear.
ALINE & WES Twin-flame rock ‘n’ roll duo, Aline & Wes, are like a sonic hearth. Just as dual stars glowing in the dark night sky, the musicians blend the best of their musical essences to present a single-minded glow that lights everything in their wake. Powerful and thoughtful vocals mix with gravely electric guitars to bring forth an illuminated sound both new and numinous. It shine The duo is comprised of Seattle mainstays Aline Vida and Wes Speight, who, separately, have made reputations for themselves in the Emerald City’s music scene. Vida, a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in L.A., has sung fluttering vocals in clubs all over the world and graced radio stations like KSER and KEXP in the Northwest. Her song, "Secrets and Lies," was featured on the Emmy-nominated television show, Justified.
Speight, originally from Tennessee, is a pointed and gnarly vocalist as creative in his songwriting as he is in his instrumentations. Equal parts comfortable headlining a summer festival as he is playing a dive bar at 1 in the morning, Speight is a multi-talented musician and prolific songwriter who, on occasion, has world-famous artists paint Sasquatch portraits as he plays on the stage.
Together, their music brightens, evident from the band’s debut EP, Lavender Lemonade, and the duo's recent gigs at the Seattle Acoustic Festival and the beloved Hollow Earth radio station. Inspired by a desire to speak out about social injustices that seem as modern as they do timeless, Aline & Wes's four-song EP begins with the rousing “Work Is Never Done” and culminates with the empowering track, “The Constructs Of Time.” The record, available now, is a lit fuse. www.alineandwes.com https://alineandwes.bandcamp.com/