St. Louis’ Son Volt brought their A-game to the stage for their hometown sold-out show at Delmar Hall on September 25. Performing in front of hundreds of friends and family cannot be easy, but the seasoned band members pulled it off without a hitch.
Opening the night was none other than Jesse Farrar, Jay Farrar’s nephew and former vocalist and upright bassist of the now-defunct Old Salt Union. He began his 30-minute set solo with a guitar and eventually brought out his father, Dade Farrar (Jay’s brother), and fellow St. Louis musician Jason Scroggins. His set featured his own work such as “Cutting Room Floor,” Old Salt Union covers “Growing Old” and “Tuscaloosa,” a cover of Keller & Keel’s “Get It While You Can,”—for which Jesse brought out his upright bass—and others. Jesse and crew had the already packed room hooting and hollering along with his folk-laden, bluegrass blend of down-home music by the time his uncle took the stage.
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On tour to support the release of their latest album, Sound Signal Serenades, Son Volt has perfected their gritty, sonic Americana/alt-country sound. Of the album, Tinnitist wrote, “The album moves fluidly between stripped-down acoustic intimacy and high-energy, full-band drives, blending folk-rock and electric grit,” and that sound easily translated to the stage. The rapt fans, mainly of the Gen-X variety, packed in tightly and kept the chatter to a minimum throughout the concert. Frontman Jay Farrar kept it all business on stage, opting to glide smoothly from one song into the next. The band incorporated fan favorites such as “Tear Stained Eye,” “Drown,” and “Windfall,” mixed in with the new material that included “Kaleidosphere,” “Hurricane Eye,” and “Serenade Song.” They ended the unbroken 90-minute set with a cover of Tom Petty’s “I Need to Know.”
The night was filled with a comfortable reunion-like atmosphere where old friends were seen, and new bonds were formed over the sounds that Son Volt creates from and for this Midwestern city.
For more photos from the night, visit bit.ly/SonVolt26cz.
