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Luke Callen

Wed, Jul 10

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Memphis

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Luke Callen
Luke Callen

Time & Location

Jul 10, 2024, 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Memphis, 3210 Old Hernando Rd, Memphis, TN 38116, USA

About the event

-Doors at 7 Show at 8 $10 cover ALL AGES SHOW Luke is an internationally touring songwriter and singer based out of Minneapolis, MN - he performs regularly at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival - Salmon Fest - Mile of Music and Midwest Music Fest - he has been twice nominated for best instrumentalist and best songwriter from the Wisconsin Area Music Industry - Luke has toured alongside Charlie Parr - Humbird - Margo Cilker - Dead Horses and Dom Flemons.

In an age of quick fixes, flashing screens, and pop ‘songs’ that are more formula than art, an album that takes its sweet time is a radical act. “Also Going Nowhere”, Luke Callen’s third full-length effort is just that – a collection of songs that spread out through time and space, dripping with honest Midwest charm and a mischievous glint. It’s music that you can relax into, paired with lyrics you’ll want to chew on and savor, that ask something of their listener. These songs are proof and reminder: you don’t actually have to go anywhere at all to, you know, get somewhere.

That’s not to say the subject matters within this work are by any means easy or expected. Clementine follows a gun-totting mother up near the Taconite mines of Northern Minnesota. Deals go horribly wrong on the street corner in Lake Street Hustle. The cosmic, primordial soup mixes with wildflower seeds in Some Reason. These epic tales swirl alongside summertime swimming holes, interstate drives, fishing trips with Dad, and unlikely marriage proposals. All of it, grounded and cohesive in the hands of a locked-in rhythm section (Chris Grey on drums and Lauren Anderson on bass) playful lead guitar (producer Erik Koskinen) the warm hum of an organ (Frankie Moscow), and of course, Luke Callen’s confident finger-picking and weathered vocal delivery.

This no-frills arrangement style is like a drink of water for those of us who crave something real and honest to listen to. The sonic palette pays homage to a whole plethora of elements endemic to the American music tradition without feeling derivative or landing too hard on any one side of the genre question. Sure, fans of John Prine, The Band, or Randy Newman will undoubtedly hear traces of Callen’s biggest influences, but there’s a modern assessment within the music that is the distinct voice of an artist coming into his own and sharing stages with fellow pickers and balladeers like Charlie Parr and Margo Cilker.

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