Blues, folk acts fill Hangar 9’s air

Blues, folk acts fill Hangar 9s air

By Jake Saunder

Live music Friday night at Hangar 9 gave several area artists some time in the gloaming.

The venue had a gathering settle in to observe three bands, many for the Swamp Tigers at midnight. However, traveling-band Dirt Daubers, as well as area singer-songwriter Jordan McCoy, also stirred the audience.

J.D. Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers began playing rock and roll four years ago and have visited Carbondale several times, as they enjoy the cityscape atmosphere of Hangar 9. Tying together the husband and wife team of J.D. and Jessica Wilkes, J.D. Wilkes led with a raw presentation of bluesy harmonica and banjo against electric guitar and upright bass.

Advertisement

J.D. Wilkes, from Paducah, Ky., plays the banjo and harmonica as well as lead vocals while Jessica Wilkes performs with an upright bass. She divides her time as well, from backing vocals to lead, where J.D. Wilkes would then take over the bass. They performed a variety of tunes from their latest album “Wild Moon.”

Martin German, an SIU alumnus from Tinley Park said he came to Hangar to see the Dirt Daubers, because he likes their sound.

“(The Dirt Daubers) kind of sound like the Black Keys, they’ve got a little mix going on,” he said. “They’re a good-ass band.”

The group performed after Jordan McCoy, a singer-songwriter from Mount Vernon who has toured across the U.S. McCoy said she has been performing professionally since age 11.

“I have been singing and performing since I was three years old,” she said. “I auditioned for my first musical when I was three, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

She signed to Bad Boy Records and toured before going to school to study musical theater.

“Right now I write my own songs, I guess you would say its folky, but my old stuff is like super-pop,” she said.

Advertisement*

McCoy said her familiarity with Hangar 9 makes it a good place to play.

“I like the Hangar because I’ve been here a million times to see bands, and so you kind of get familiar with the people that come and the stage is really nice and it’s a really nice venue,” she said.

Once the Swamp Tigers took the stage, they became a bold focal point of rockabilly composition. Members Andrew Staff, guitar and vocals; Blake Bramlett, upright bass; and Zach Kemp, drums, delivered their catchy rhythms and quick tempos with which the audience could groove, and once the listeners were hooked, their bones might have been compelled to follow suit.

Advertisement