Don’t Miss Tobacco & EMA w/ Stargazer Lilies, Downtown Boys | TONIGHT @ Mercy Lounge + The High Watt

Nashville, we’ve got a pretty important question to ask you: what are you doing tonight? If you said anything besides catching Tobacco’s set at Mercy Lounge, well, you should probably change your plans, since this is going to be quite an awesome performance. Since we first announced this Tobacco show, it has combined with EMA‘s performance across the hall at The High Watt, where one ticket will get you access to both bands plus openers The Stargazer Lillies and Downtown Boys. The show only costs $15, and we’ve got more details below. Per usual, the event is 18+ and begins at 9 pm (doors at 8). We hope to see you there, but, before you go, catch up on all these acts, and listen to some pretty sweet tunes, after the jump!

TOBACCO

Oh, boy: where can we even start with this one? Tobacco, whom you might know as the frontman for fuzzed-out psychedelic act Black Moth Super Rainbow, is an electronic artist that primarily makes use of analog gear in his solo sets. Much like the rest of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Thomas Fec (the birth name of Tobacco) has done an admirable job of remaining out of the spotlight despite attaining a legendary cult status, so there isn’t too much we can tell you about his personal life. What we can let you know, however, is that over the course of his six official solo releases, Tobacco has basically established his own niche within electronic music. It’s pretty tough to put into words how Tobacco’s tunes sound, but, to get a feel for what we mean, check out the stream for Tobacco’s new single, “Father Sister Berzerker,” below. If you like what hear, maybe you’ll consider checking out this incredibly unique act live this evening.

EMA

Erika M. Anderson (EMA) is one of those rare acts that absolutely delights in being a bit on the fringe. EMA got her career started playing guitar for experimental rock act Amps for Christ, before moving into the drone world with her project Gowns. Since going solo back in 2010, EMA has become one of the most talked about artists across the web. While her solo work certainly draws upon her experimental roots, tracks like “Satellite” (which we’ve got streaming below) incorporate dance and pop influences into the mix. The result is a sound that is entirely unique and yet immediately accessible. Take a listen to the song below; we promise you’ll like it (we actually can’t make that promise, but we are at least pretty sure that you’ll like what you hear). 

THE STARGAZER LILIES

While both EMA and Tobacco have already accumulated pretty massive followings, the next two acts we’ll highlight are a bit more underground. The first of these acts is The Stargazer Lilies, who play a modernized version of the classic ’90s shoegaze genre. If you’re at all familiar with shoegaze (you might have heard acts like My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive), you know what this means: soaring yet muddled vocal melodies, a “wall of sound,” and, of course, lots and lots of distortion and reverb. This style was very popular back in the day, but, to many modern listeners, some of these aesthetics might come off a bit dated. The Stargazer Lilies have made a name for themselves by taking these older influences and reworking them into a modern and slightly more accessible sound. While the group haven’t fully taken off yet, based solely on the strength of their tunes, we suspect they’ll see their own measure of success in the near future.

DOWNTOWN BOYS

Whereas all of the bands we’ve talked about in this post use a metric ton of distortion in their sound, Providence natives Downtown Boys go about it in a totally different way than the others. Rather than using the distortion as a hazy blanket for the listener to fall into, Downtown Boys use their distortion pedals to get a sound that’s as loud, energetic, and in-your-face as possible. The group is, after all, a straight up punk act, albeit one with a saxophone player. Like most punk groups, these guys are pretty straightforward in their sound and focus, and fans of the genre are sure to love. Though they’re the odd man odd on the bill sound-wise, with the level of energy and passion they’ve put into their tunes, we have a hard time imagining that this act won’t go over quite well this evening. We hope to see you there!

Tobacco, EMA, The Stargazer Lilies, and Downtown Boys will perform TONIGHT, April 30, at both Mercy Lounge and The High Watt. The show is 18+ begins at 9 p.m. (doors at 8 p.m.), and tickets are available for $15.