>> Tickets available 1/16 <<
Lavender Country
While LAVENDER COUNTRY (1973) was little known outside the Pacific Northwest and only released one self-distributed album, they created a genuine cultural milestone; the first openly gay country album. After sitting stagnant for four decades, indie label Paradise of Bachelors discovered the album, reissued it, and shot Lavender Country into the stratosphere. With a new rotating lineup of musicians, Haggerty began performing to a brand new generation of Lavender Country fans drawn to the band's timeless message of queer liberation and revolution. Haggerty, now approaching age 77, is stronger than ever. His shows are a unique combination of good country music, sharp Marxist political critique, and a huge lineup of incredible backup musicians across the country. Poignant emotions leave his audience laughing, dancing, and crying all at once. The current emergence of fascism and the deep political divisions in American culture are making Lavender Country a critical component of progressive and radical politics.
Laith & The Texas Birds
Laith, known by some as Hutch, hails from the suburban hurricane of Houston, Texas. Laith’s music is soaked with memories of Grandma and Grandpa’s bayou house, rides on a red vintage lawn mower packed with cousins, and smoky, music filled bars that a 16 year old has no place being. Which is exactly where Laith found himself as a youngling. Torn between playing music on Sunday’s at church (where he learned to play guitar and sing) and performing in grimy dives, creates a tension in his songwriting that sits somewhere between the altar and the barstool. Ain’t no religion here anymore, just songs. Worth noting: “A song is a room, no matter how happy or sad”. – John H. Laith now resides in the Pacific Northwest lugging used up notebooks and loose scraps of paper scratched with the lyrics of new songs, not yet learned. You can always look forward to hearing something new and something honest when you’re listening to Laith.
- Dusty Atticus author of “The Wasp: Foe or Misunderstood Friend?’’
Jack Habegger’s Celebrity Telethon
Hailing from Portland, OR by way of Olympia, WA, Jack Habegger’s Celebrity Telethon takes a uniquely northwestern approach to alternative country. The band has made a name for themselves with wobbly synths, twangy harmonies, and Habegger’s plainspoken songwriting. He has assembled a stable of veteran players for the outfit that each contribute singularly to a band that is both comfortable and eccentric. Bandcamp chose their January 2021 EP “Oy Vey!” as a “New and Notable” release, featuring it on their homepage and describing it as a “sweet slice of introspective, homespun country-folk.”