David Wax Museum is returning to southern Ohio, bringing his fresh blend of Mexo-Americana music north of the border.
The group is joined by Bombadil on Tuesday for a special intimate show at Stuart’s Opera House, 52 Public Sq., Nelsonville, where the audience will be able to sit on stage feet away from the band.
“We set up folding chairs on the stage with a riser for the band,” said Brian Koscho, marketing director for Stuart’s. “It’s a smaller show, and it’s more intimate which is a different way to watch a show (at Stuart’s).”
Koscho said both bands are perfect for this kind of cozy setting and each bring their own flavor to the show.
David Wax Museum previously opened for Carolina Chocolate Drops at Stuart’s and played at the 2013 Nelsonville Music Festival this past summer. Koscho said the group is building momentum through appearances on KEXP and the NPR Tiny Desk concert series.
“They are the nicest people. Their enthusiasm for their music comes across, and that’s not something that always happens,” Koscho said. “I think they’re a perfect fit for the kind of music we have here; they have that Americana folk feel but there is something kind of unique about it.”
What sets the group apart is its use of traditional Mexican percussion instruments, including a donkey jaw bone, which band member Suz Slezak uses to make a rattling noise from the donkey’s teeth.
Bombadil, named after a character from the Lord of the Rings series that wrote and sang poems, has also frequented the Athens area, having played a number of shows at Casa Nueva in the past. The folk-pop band went on hiatus in 2009-2010 due to frontman Daniel Michalak suffering from nerve damage in his hand just as the group began to pick up steam.
Jesse Phillips, drummer for Bombadil, said even after moving away and starting new projects, he never questioned that the group would get back together.
“I knew Bombadil would play an important part in my life,” Phillips said. “Just like anything else, music is about sticking with something. We’re told that young, talented people can’t make it in the industry, but in reality it’s much more about hard work and dedication that works for music.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
@Wilbur_Hoffman
