The Hems kept our second season rolling in style. The rapidly rising Austin duo has everything we love: stunning songwriting chops, beautiful harmonies, powerful stage presence. We couldn’t have asked for a better day – cloudless skies, friends new and old and incredible music – to enjoy their show.
The Hems engaged throughout by backing their stellar original songs (“Novaleen,” “Honey Twist”) with several show-stopping interpretations (“I’ll Fly Away,” the Gram Parsons’ classic “Hickory Wind”). All had our capacity crowd wanting more.
The Hems’ went above and beyond by honoring our house rule with not one but two Townes Van Zandt songs: their energetic “White Freightliner Blues” and an absolutely beautiful “I’ll Be Here in the Morning.” Both did Townes proud!
Several in the crowd drew comparisons to the all-star duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. We agree. We expect you’ll see the Hems reach similar heights, no doubt mirroring Welch and Rawlings’ ascent to festivals like Austin City Limits Music Festival and San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in no time.
We hope you were among the lucky at the show on Sunday evening. Then you can say, “We saw The Hems way back when at Catfish Concerts!”
As always, special thanks to our sponsors at Cheatham Street Warehouse, Enoteca Vespaio, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Omnivore Recordings and Tito’s Vodka. We love you guys! (And Joe Pug does, too!)
See you on June 15 for Matt the Electrician!
