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PREVIEW: Forlorn Strangers w/ Terri Binion and Matthew Fowler | Will’s Pub, Orlando, FL | TONIGHT

by • November 11, 2016

I had to google what a ‘dobro’ meant. It’s a “generic term for a wood-bodied, single cone resonator guitar,” (for those of you forthright enough to admit you were unaware of this instruments existence.) I once had to ask someone to point out which one was the bass guitar and how could you tell? Needless to say I’m shameless in my musical ignorance except for when I came across the Forlorn Strangers. Hanging my head with the guilt of only having discovered them now, I decided there was enough strife around us to kick myself for too long. I had a catalog to catch up on!

The Nashville quintet are an intricate quilt of talent that takes a different shape depending on which member of the multi-faceted band steps into the spotlight. Each member contributes to the songwriting which is a rarity in such a large ensemble. If only every individual played more than two or three instruments along with the songwriting, maybe, then I’d really be impressed.*Sarcasm dripping* Forlorn Strangers is comprised of Abigail Dempsey (fiddle, percussion, vocals) and Hannah Dempsey Lusk (mandolin, percussion, vocals); along with Chris Banke (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Benjamin Lusk (banjo, guitar, vocals), and Jesse Thompson (upright bass, dobro, guitar, vocals.) The first two EPs lay the ground work for the polyphonous garden of sound which is the harmony driven self-titled album. FS creates rhythms on this album which feel like your grandfather’s flannel; warm, hushed, sensory memories that envelop you completely.

It’s a little Fleetwood Mac, a little Joni, and a whole lot of soul. We all need this now. Will’s has always stood firm in the belief that all are welcome inside it’s walls and I cannot think of a better band for the best stage in Orlando during this time of uncertainty. Like the melodies of this band, like the anxious chemical cocktail inside of us, we’re a little mixed up, unable to be pin down where to go from here. And like when your beloved furry best friend went to the big fluffy tennis ball in the sky, like when you called your mom to say you weren’t going to make it home for Thanksgiving, you heave your chest then you turn to music and friends which you quickly realize have always been the same entity all along; stubbornly and eternally inseparable. Let Will’s Pub be your haven tonight. There are songs to be sung! Toes to be tapped! Laughs and hugs to be had! Terri Binion and Matthew Fowler make this evening even more special as they take the stage before the beautiful Forlorn Strangers.

GET TICKETS to “TERRI BINION W/ FORLORN STRANGERS & MATTHEW FOWLER@ WILL’S PUB”

PREVIEW: Forlorn Strangers w/ Terri Binion and Matthew Fowler by Sarah Schumaker

 

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