Take Two of the Local Spins Live Contemporary Folk Series in St. Cecilia Music Center’s historic Royce Auditorium will star two of West Michigan’s most popular bands in precedent-setting performances.
Dressed for Success: Delilah DeWylde and The Lost Boys bring high-falutin’ honky-tonk to St. Cecilia Music Center’s Royce Auditorium tonight. (Photo/Spins on Music)
Pristine and refined aren’t terms that immediately spring to mind when describing Delilah DeWylde and The Lost Boys in a live setting.
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The rockabilly-infused West Michigan band is renowned for its lively and rollicking performances of throwback, twangy honky-tonk fodder, with DeWylde twirling and perching upon her standup bass, Lee Harvey squeezing tasty tones out of his Gretsch guitar, and drummer D.J. McCoy adding just the right rhythmic pop to songs such as “Just for the Hank of It” and “Burn It Up.”
And don’t expect the band to tone down that lovable energy on Thursday night, though they will turn down the amps a tad and temper the drums to take advantage of the exemplary acoustics in St. Cecilia Music Center’s Royce Auditorium as part of the second installation of the inaugural Local Spins Live Contemporary Folk Series, presented by Spins on Music, St. Cecilia and Mackinaw Harvest Music. The concert begins at 7:30 tonight.
“Wow. Royce Auditorium. That’s for like opera singers and the symphony people and beautiful acoustic performances. Do they know who we are?” joked DeWylde. “We’re gonna strip down a little bit, pull the volume back a little bit and lighten up on the drums a little bit, and really use it as a chance to show how that folk music has had its influence on rockabilly.”
DeWylde and those Lost Boys — who’ve been honky-tonking across the region since 2004 — delivered a preview of that on radio during this week’s Local Spins Live on News Talk 1340 AM, uncorking a cucumber-cool rendition of “Win My Love,” the title track from the band’s latest album.
You can listen to a podcast of the interview here, and check out a video of their performance at the bottom of this post. And as you’ll see, it’s pretty tough for this crew to contain its hyperactive musicality.
“We’ll still have high energy,” DeWylde said of the St. Cecilia show. “We just won’t bring down the rafters.”
That rafter thing remains to be seen, because another high-energy band — West Michigan’s ultra-popular The Crane Wives — is also on Thursday night’s bill, though members of this fast-rising folk-rock outfit also have promised to change things up significantly for this special show, giving fans something they’ve never witnessed previously.
The Crane Wives
“We’ve made some creative changes to our live set up for this show. (Bassist Ben) Zito usually plays a fretless electric bass, but has spent the last month or so practicing the upright,” drummer Dan Rickabus told me. “It’s a completely new experience for him, and for the band, so we’re really excited about it.
“I’ve also stripped my usual full drum kit down to a minimal, tribal sound – kick drum, hi-hat, a cajon and a conga. I’ve always enjoyed how … having less to play on focuses the energy of a performance. Our set list for the night is much more laid-back and focused on ballads. We play a lot of bars and dance-party environments, so we’re really looking forward to slowing down, letting our music breathe and float through this beautiful acoustic space.”
Another first: Look for The Crane Wives to debut a brand new song, “Margaret,” as part of the evening’s closing set.
Both bands are promoting new albums — DeWylde’s “Win My Love” and The Crane Wives’ “The Fool in Her Wedding Gown” — which are nominated for Jammie Awards being doled on Friday night at The Intersection by WYCE-FM (88.1). And both bands have the distinction of winning their respective categories in last fall’s ArtPrize music competition for original songs they submitted.
Tickets — $15 adults, $10 students — are still available for tonight’s all-ages show, though they’ve been selling briskly. Tickets will be sold at the door at St. Cecilia, 24 Ransom Ave. NE; or get tickets and more details online here. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Admission includes a post-concert reception upstairs that will feature a performance by singer-songwriter Melissa Dylan of the band Romance for Ransom. Beer and wine will be available for sale before and after the show, and during the intermission, though beverages are not allowed inside Royce Auditorium.
Check out a recap of the first Local Spins Live folk show held at St. Cecilia in January in this Spins on Music story and video. The third and final concert in the series takes place on March 28, with Seth Bernard and May Erlewine, with special guests The Fauxgrass Quartet.
As DeWylde put it, tonight’s Local Spins Live concert is a rare opportunity for fans of both bands to hear them in an acoustically pleasing, sit-down environment and even bring their kids along.
“They’ll see us,” she said, “in a way they haven’t heard.”
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