Bridget Kearney at the Raccoon Motel -- May 19.
Sunday, May 19, 6 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Currently touring in support of her 2024 release Comeback Kid, a recording that AllMusic said found its creator "crafting memorable songs that are as likable and infectious as anything she's done," R&B/pop artist and Iowa City native Bridget Kearney headlines a May 19 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist also a founding member of the band Lake Street Dive and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.
Born in Iowa City in 1985, Kearney, as stated at AllMusic.com, "was introduced to music when she became a member of the youth choir at the Lutheran Church her family attended. When she was five years old, Kearney started taking piano lessons, and while she was in the fourth grade, she took up the double bass. The bass became her instrument of choice, and in high school she played in orchestra and jazz band while also gigging with a local rock group. After completing high school, Kearney studied jazz at the New England Conservatory of Music (she also enrolled at Tufts University, majoring in English), and during her years at the Conservatory, she played in a variety of groups, including the rootsy indie pop act Joy Kills Sorrow (she recorded two albums with them in 2010 and 2011), an experimental folk-pop group known as Cuddle Magic (she appeared on three of their albums between 2007 and 2011), and the Fundies, which also featured singer and songwriter Margaret Glaspy (they released an EP in 2012). However, it was Lake Street Dive, which Kearney helped put together in her second year at NECM, that would become her most popular project. Formed in 2004, Lake Street Dive released their first album, In This Episode, in 2007, and by 2018 they had issued six full-length albums, including two (Side Pony and Free Yourself Up) for Nonesuch Records.
"During her downtime from Lake Street Dive, Kearney worked with other musicians, penning songs for Margaret Glaspy's solo projects and playing sessions with banjo player Bill Evans and the contemporary folk duo the Brother Brothers. In 2015, Kearney teamed with her former Cuddle Magic bandmate Benjamin Lazar Davis (who later worked with Joan as Police Woman and Okkervil River) to make an EP, BAWA, that was recorded in Ghana and reflected their passion for African musical forms. 2017 saw the release of Won't Let You Down, Kearney's first solo album, which found her playing bass, guitar, and keyboards as well as singing lead. In 2020, Kearney and Davis unveiled a second collaboration, Still Flying, which like BAWA was recorded in Ghana using a portable recording rig, and included contributions from Stevo Atambire, a virtuoso on the two-string instrument called the kologo. In 2021, Kearney took on the position of songwriting teacher at Princeton University. While there, she took part in a song-a-day workshop, a process that eventually led her to return to the studio. In March 2024, she delivered the Dan Molad-produced Comeback Kid, an album that showcased her talent for writing wry and literate melodic pop."
Bridget Kearney headlines her Davenport engagement on May 19 with an opening set by Deerlady, admission to the 6 p.m. concert is $19.84, and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
