Humbird
Icehouse
Minneapolis, MN
May 12th, 2023
This is a "Midwest Sounds" recording (MWS296/297)
Lineage: Audience Recording using Zoom H2 internal mics > SD Card > PC > Mastered in Adobe Audition > Track splitting using CD Wave Editor > Compressed to FLAC Level 8 using dBpoweramp > Tagged with MP3 Tag
-Feel free to re-master, share freely anywhere else, convert to MP3, just never ever sell it. Also, if you like this show, please support the artist by buying/streaming their music, buying a ticket to a show or buying merch.
More pictures here: Link
McKain Lakey
https://www.mckainlakey.com/
1. When I Was a Young Girl (Trad.)
2. Microscope
3. Crush on You
4. ?
5. Begin Again
6. ?
7. Cicadas in the Trees (w/ Siri Undlin)
Archive.org / Google Drive
Sometimes the pursuit of our greater humanity involves jumping into life head first. That’s what McKain Lakey does. You can tell by her songs.
Armed with George the trusty road cat, a carful of instruments, and all the fight of a rambling, rural-raised, queer femme wanderer, McKain Lakey is one to be reckoned with. She’s the rare human who feels as comfortable wielding a chisel as she does a guitar, who can be as often spotted behind the soundboard in a crowded venue as discussing the intersections of race and gender in old time music with a classroom full of 5th graders.
Described by What’s Up Magazine as “a time capsule unearthed, fine-tuned and re-imagined”, Lakey draws creative inspiration from far corners of the American music tradition, tracing the lines of musical lineage that connect Old Time to Rockabilly, Country to Cajun to Dixieland. She’s a dedicated student of tradition, but at once unafraid to stare down convention through the modern lens of her lived experience. Her 2021 album, Somewhere, blurs lines of old and new, referencing musical textures of past eras while unabashedly exploring topics of mental health, family separation, rural identity and queer love.
“My introduction to American folk music was so rooted in the knowledge that I am a part of living tradition, a web connected across time and distance, and built by generations of creative and resilient people.” -McKain Lakey
Humbird
https://www.humbirdmusic.com/
1. Pharmakon
2. Lincoln, Nebraska
3. May
4. Standing in the Way
5. Persephone
6. Heavy
7. Eve Boards a Train
8. Plum Sky
9. Cornfields and Roadkill
10. Fresh Water
11. Pink Moon for John Prine
12. On the Day We Are Together Again
13. Child of Violence
14. North Country Girl
Siri Undlin- Vocals, Guitar
Pat Keen- Bass
Pete Quirsfeld- Drums
Addie Strei- Synthesizer, Woodwinds
Archive.org / Google Drive
Inspired by the crystalline chill of the north country she calls home in Minnesota, Humbird combines a wintry longing with the warmth of a familiar folktale. Humbird’s music moves between experimental folk and environmental Americana to embrace the unexpected. The music invites a refreshing dissonance into the house. It leaves bread crumbs along the path and reflects light back at the stars.
Siri Undlin witnessed the power of storytelling in her childhood home and began writing music and performing in church choirs and in Irish ensembles from a young age. Her voice, which contains the unwavering fortitude of hymnal melodies, reveals her traditional background.
In 2019, Humbird released the critically acclaimed, debut full-length, Pharmakon, which introduced us to Humbird’s songcraft and harmonic folk style. With Folk Alley calling the album “... an absolutely hypnotic listening experience.” Atwood Magazine described it as music wrapped in “gentle rebellion”. The release garnered millions of online streams and a wide range of accolades, including 89.3FM The Current’s “Best Local Albums Of The Year”, one of City Page’s “Picked To Click” Awards, “Best Minnesota Albums” from the Star Tribune, and as an official showcasing artist at SXSW in Austin.
Most recently, the material on Humbird’s sophomore record Still Life (October 2021) has already received enthusiastic praise from within the folk world – awarded as one of Kerrville Folk Fest’s New Folk winners for 2021.
**************************
Tapers notes: Was hoping to get a SBD feed as Siri has been open to taping anytime I've asked, but I wasn't able to get one, so an audience recording had to do. Thankfully, The Icehouse is a small, intimate venue and a great place for recording and this one turned out well. I wasn't familiar with the opener, but McKain ended up being a treat, and well worth a listen. This show was originally supposed to take place in December, but Siri lost her voice the day before and it had to be re-scheduled.
In 2019, Humbird released the critically acclaimed, debut full-length, Pharmakon, which introduced us to Humbird’s songcraft and harmonic folk style. With Folk Alley calling the album “... an absolutely hypnotic listening experience.” Atwood Magazine described it as music wrapped in “gentle rebellion”. The release garnered millions of online streams and a wide range of accolades, including 89.3FM The Current’s “Best Local Albums Of The Year”, one of City Page’s “Picked To Click” Awards, “Best Minnesota Albums” from the Star Tribune, and as an official showcasing artist at SXSW in Austin.
Most recently, the material on Humbird’s sophomore record Still Life (October 2021) has already received enthusiastic praise from within the folk world – awarded as one of Kerrville Folk Fest’s New Folk winners for 2021.
**************************
Tapers notes: Was hoping to get a SBD feed as Siri has been open to taping anytime I've asked, but I wasn't able to get one, so an audience recording had to do. Thankfully, The Icehouse is a small, intimate venue and a great place for recording and this one turned out well. I wasn't familiar with the opener, but McKain ended up being a treat, and well worth a listen. This show was originally supposed to take place in December, but Siri lost her voice the day before and it had to be re-scheduled.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
