TRAVEL SONGS AND NEW SWEDEN AT MOJO
Mojo Main in Newark was the scene of yet another well-attended and dynamic evening of live music this past Saturday. Hosting two headliners, the Main street venue drew a couple of hundred music enthusiasts who showed up to see two intimate, high-energy sets by Delaware’s own Travel Songs and New Sweden.
Kicking the night off a little after nine-thirty was Tim Meren, who opened to a growing crowd. Following Meren’s brief but heartfelt performance, Newark-area group Travel Songs took the stage. Made up mainly of former members of the now-defunct local power group Diego Paulo, and counting with the musical abilities of The Keefs’ George Murphy on the keyboards, the band wasted no time in hooking the audience’s attention. This was achieved through a well-composed, contagious hybrid of indie rock and world sounds.
Where many groups will count on one or two specific members to carry their weight, this young quintet benefits from a well-rounded cast that contributes equally to a coherent sound. Relying on a solid rhythm section made up of bassist Sam Nobles and percussionist Tyler Holloway, the band maintained a continuously thumping groove. Switching with ease between lead and rhythm guitar, singer Zach Humenick and guitar player/singer Tyler Doherty drove the set with urgency, navigating around a wide range of chords that intimated the sounds of Appalachian Kentucky, the Mediterranean, and Latin America. Adding the finishing touches to the group’s cosmopolitan sound was George Murphy. His clever use of keyboards and harmonies lent the set potency, further cementing the band as a local power group.
Set to close out the evening was Wilmington’s own New Sweden. A versatile sextet, the group lived up to its image as a regional folk-and-Americana powerhouse. Compact, fluid, and superbly emotive, the performance was marked by a poetic sense of intimacy and connection.
Each of the numbers was at once easily relatable and highly sophisticated and enhanced by a cadre of talented singers with an intuitive sense for poignant and wistful harmonies. Anchored by a sweet and piercing violin courtesy of Laura Jewell, the band emphasized their knowledge of traditional American music without any pretense, as they explored the depths of their poetic sensibilities with an honesty that was more than believable. Through the use of captivating lyrics and a soulful sound, the group painted a picture of everyday life that was both relatable and easy for the crowd to enjoy. Always on their toes, and never dropping a beat, bassist Dan Weirauch and drummer Zac Dukenfield kept things steady. At the same time, multiinstrumentalists Chuck Knott, James Dukenfield, and guitarist William Dobies shared the microphone with both confidence and ease.
On a double-header of a night that combined the worldly sounds of Travel Songs, with the intimate roots sensibilities of New Sweden, Mojo Main kicked off the calendar year by showing off to all those in attendance, the fantastic range and depth of talent present in a growing local scene.