Many things have been used or created to make music. These things are of course called instruments. One of the best and most impactful instruments is the human voice. This was was made obvious last week when Mountain Man played at Saturn in Birmingham with Jake Xerxes Fussell opening up for them. The respectful crowd gathered that night for what proved to be a very memorable show that showcased southern roots music with a modern turn.
Jake Xerxes Fussell is currently based out of Durham, NC but has lived all over the southeast. That is pretty unmistakable when hearing his raspy voice singing about sweet potatoes and rabbits sitting on logs. His knowledge of southern music and its history became clear after each song when he would give some insight to influences or inspirations. His current record, What in the Natural World, features songs like “Raggy Levy”, “Jump for Joy” and “Have you ever seen Peaches growing on Sweet Potatoes Vine”. Don’t pass on an opportunity to catch JXF if you get one in the future.
After a short and stellar set from Fussell the girls of Mountain Man began captivating the audience members. Made up of Amelia Meath, Molly Erin Sarlé and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, the band Mountain Man formed many years ago and released their debut album Made The Harbor in 2010. After that they started to drift apart. Meath formed the music group Sylvan Esso and Mountain Man stopped writing and making music together until recently. This past year they reconvened and produced their sophomore album called Magic Ship, released by Nonesuch Records on September 21st, 2018.
The three first started playing music together and became friends at college up in Vermont. The unbelievable harmonizing sound their combined voices produced drew them together in the beginning, but their friendship brought them back together after so many years. Mountain Man’s music features beautiful melodies highlighting each tone of their voices and pitch with just a guitar if anything backing them up. This type of music has to be witnessed in near silence due to the lack of other instruments. It was the quietest show I have ever been to but fortunately everyone at Saturn that night was being very respectful and quite during their songs.
It was clear that the friendship between the trio has been built upon with the current tour. The stage banter was funny and refreshing. They were up there trying to crack each other up by telling stories about their day off in town.
It was good to see a show that had everything stripped down to just pure music. There wasn’t a smoke machine, fancy lights or a dozen roadies hauling cases of gear. Just human voices and subtle guitar. Music in its purest form. Mountain Man is a site to hear and see.
Check out photos from the show by Art Husband:
Jake Xerxes Fussell
Mountain Man
Mountain Man Online:
Website // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram
Upcoming Mountain Man Tour Dates
3/26 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center*
3/27 – Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall*
3/28 – York, PA – Capitol Theatre*
3/29 – Vienna, VA – The Barns at Wolf Trap*
5/29 – Baltimore, MD – Creative Alliance^ SOLD OUT
5/30 – South Orange, NJ – SOPAC^
6/1 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios^
6/2 – Westhampton Beach, NY – Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center^
6/4 – Fairfield, CT – StageOne^
6/5 – Brooklyn, NY – National Sawdust~
6/7 – Provincetown, MA – The Hawthorne Barn~
6/8 – Rockport, MA – Shalin Liu Performance Center~
6/9 – Burlington, VT – First Unitarian Church~
7/27 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival SOLD OUT
7/30 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
8/4 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheater+
8/2-4 – Happy Valley, OR – Pickathon
9/21 – Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheater º
__________________________________________
*with Jake Xerxes Fussell
^with Doug Paisley
~with William Tyler
+ with Gregory Alan Isakov
ºwith Mandolin Orange
