Doors 6pm, Music 7pm

Southern Star

Southern Star was formed by Cian McCarthy and Alex Coté at SUNY Purchase in 2012, starting as a collaboration between the two songwriters. Years later, pedal steel guitarist Kurt Johnson and bassist Shane McCarthy joined Cian and Alex to back harpist and vocalist Mikaela Davis on the road and on her 2023 release “And Southern Star.” 

Years of touring alongside Davis have fortified them into the tight knit group they are today. As they continue to collaborate outside of Davis’ band, the road tested quartet leans on their musical rapport to interpret the songwriting contributions of all four members, thus establishing the band in its current state. 

Stylistically, Southern Star combines folk songwriting with psychedelic rock, highlighting poetically driven lyrics with intricate arrangements and improvisation. The culmination is a sound drawing influences from New Riders of The Purple Sage, The Byrds, Wilco, John Coltrane and Led Zeppelin, to name a few. 

2024 will see the release of Southern Star’s debut record, A Change Has Come, exclusively comprised of Cian McCarthy songs, with the lead single, “Lake of the Mind”, already available. While the quartet has played a handful of double-duty shows throughout the country, both opening for Davis and backing her up, this spring will debut the first performances in their home turf of Upstate New York. 

https://andsouthernstar.bandcamp.com/track/lake-of-the-mind

Ongoing

Ongoing is a folk-rock group based in the Hudson Valley, NY. The band features lead vocals by Katie Jones, Adam Netsky of Maybird on drums, multi-instrumentalist Braden Bodensteiner and Jonathan Hudack on bass. Ongoing’s songs vary in style and draw inspiration from artists like Neil Young, Wilco and early Fairport Convention. They consider each live show an opportunity to ever so slightly explore beyond the edge of a song. Their music presents passionately delivered melodies, philosophical lyrics, as well as spirited and wild sonic textures.

https://katiejones.bandcamp.com/

https://bradenbodensteiner.bandcamp.com/

https://adamnetsky.com/

Andy Weaver

https://weaver.bandcamp.com/

Tickets: $10 advance, $15 day of show and on sale now at https://abilene.showare.com/ and at the bar