The Phantom Shakers‘ founding members, vocalist Elle Mae and guitarist Mark Longsdorf, had already caught worldwide attention with their 2011 debut EP, The Ghetto Session, in their hometown of Detroit. Just after a successful European tour and the release of their latest EP Right Behind You Baby, the band made the move to the Live Music Capital to get a fresh start and spread their music further. Texas was about to get a taste of traditional rockabilly with a shot of Motor City grit.
This quartet delivers a mean hybrid of rockabilly, twang and swing as Mae seduces you even further with her vixen croons. Featuring Nick Thibodeau on drums and Rayce Ribble thumpin’ the upright bass, the band finds inspiration in both classic and modern rockabilly acts. Longsdorf, a longtime vintage guitar expert with an extensive knowledge of roots music, thanks largely to his guitarist father, has been playing for more than 20 years and knows a thing or two about laying on the heavy-duty twang.
It’ll do you good to bundle up and see The Phantom Shakers tonight at the perfect cozy spot, The Blackheart, 86 Rainey St. The music starts at 8 p.m. Get you a whiskey and tell the Shakers the Austin Music Minute maven sent you. Va va voom.
