Dustbowl Revival: L.A. Meets LaSalle

With David Lindley sold out, we are moving on to our next show. This is a really big show. So much so, we even had to buy another section of stage. Our biggest show to date features 8 musicians. They were voted the best live band in Los Angeles by L.A. Weekly. 

Dustbowl Revival

Friday, April 17th  |  7:30 pm

$25 General Admission  |  Purchase Tickets

Washboard, mandolin, fiddle, trumpet, trombone, stand-up bass, drums and guitar. I promise you a high energy, super-sensory experience. Just to add to their credibility... after playing here, they play Fitzgerald's in Berwyn and the Ark in Ann Arbor (two of the Midwest's most reputable live music venues).

Get your tickets now. Seating will be limited because the band will make up almost 10% of the audience.  A little more about Dustbowl...

8 pieces. Go ahead, count them:

• Z. Lupetin - guitars, vocals
• Liz Beebe - vocals, washboard
• Daniel Mark - mandolin 
• Connor Vance - fiddle 
• Matt Rubin - trumpet 
• Ulf Bjorlin - trombone 
• Josh Heffernan - drums
• James Klopfleisch - bass

The Dustbowl Revival is a Venice, California-based collective that merges old school bluegrass, gospel, pre-war blues and the hot swing of New Orleans to form a spicy roots cocktail. Known for their roaring live sets, Dustbowl bravely brings together many styles of traditional American music. Some call it string band-brass band mash up. Maybe it's called Swing grass or good old Americana. Imagine Old Crow Medicine Show teaming up with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Sevens, or Bob Dylan and The Band jamming with Benny Goodman and his orchestra in 1938. It’s infectious, joyous music - a youthful take on time-worn American traditions. 

Click here to view a music video for "Whiskey in the Well."

Each Dustbowl performance promises to be a white-knuckle ride through the history of American folk music that rarely stays just on the stage. Call it the new old-timey dance party sound made fresh by some of the best soloists in the business. Most of the gang is classically trained though you might not know it when some of the funk breaks out.

Their resume is rather extensive:

• had several songs aired on ABC and Fox
• tunes featured in independent films like "Made In China" (winner of SXSW)
• won Americana song of the year from the Independent Music Awards (Tom Waits judging)
• opening for bands like Lake Street Dive, Rebirth Brass Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Trombone Shorty
• Festivals on tap in 2015 include Floydfest (VA), Clearwater Hudson Revival (NY), The Winnipeg Folk Festival, Naked Song Fest (Netherlands) and Bergenfest (Norway) where they will join Tori Amos, First Aid Kit and Jackson Browne. 

But don't just take our word for it.  Here are a couple well-known publications who can also vouch for their unrivaled talent:

“In a city like Los Angeles, home to musical stars in nearly every known genre, handing out the Best Live Band title is not easy. But the free-thinking local collective Dustbowl Revival's upbeat, old-school, All-American sonic safaris exemplify everything shows should be: hot, spontaneous, engaging and, best of all, a pleasure to hear.” — LA WEEKLY

"Americana swing that was so fun I went back to see them again the next day." — ROLLING STONE

“...evokes a Depression-era sensibility redolent of John Steinbeck, and the spirit-raising gospel of the American South.” — BOSTON GLOBE

Founder Z. Lupetin came west from Chicago in 2007 and placed a humble Craigslist ad to get this circus started. The group has grown steadily from a small string band playing up and down the west coast, into a traveling mini orchestra featuring instrumentation that often includes fiddle, mandolin, trombone, clarinet, trumpet, ukelele, drums, tuba, organ, a bass made from a canoe oar, harmonica and plenty of washboard and kazoo for good luck. They have settled into an eight piece touring machine - rattling ceilings and sometimes bringing their grinning sound into the street.

Pay a visit to 601 First Street on April 17th and see for yourself!