Songwriter Evan Charles is definitely a familiar face in the local music scene. Chances are you’ve seen him as front man of garage rockers The Sweet Nuthin’, a multi-instrumentalist master in Nic Armstrong‘s band, performing with rock outfit The Happen-Ins, or even from his time with psych trio The Daze. Charles has the kind of talent that effortlessly crosses boundaries, which means never being tied down to any one genre.
Most recently, Charles revealed a more contemplative folk/Americana-based side to his style with his latest project, Altamesa, and his debut solo album, The Long Ride Home, a collection of ten songs spanning eight years’ worth of songwriting. Or, as Charles himself explains, “The stuff I never considered to be bar music that a rock and roll band would play, stuff that would reveal itself more through time and repeated listening and rumination,” songs that are stripped down and holding up on their own.
Altamesa is celebrating the new album with a release show tonight at Lambert’s, 402 W. 2nd St., featuring solo performances by special guests Jonathan Terrell (Not In the Face) and Jonas Wilson (The Midnight Stroll). Doors open at 9:30 p.m. Very recommended.
-Photo courtesy of the artist.
