Bully at the Raccoon Motel -- September 14.
Thursday, September 14, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Currently earning raves for her June release Lucky for You, which DIY Magazine called "a near-perfect album if there ever was one," alternative-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist Alicia Bognanno brings her solo project Bully to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on September 14, with Paste magazine deeming her latest "an openhearted, anthemic career best" and Exclaim! labeling it "a confident, compelling record that reveals – and revels in – the softness behind the feedback and fuzz that continue to make Bully a force to be reckoned with."
Bully was founded by Rosemount, Minnesota native Bognanno, who earned a degree from Middle Tennessee State University in audio recording before getting an internship at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studios in Chicago. She started recording demos of her own material before relocating to Nashville and originally designed Bully in 2013 as a trio, with her then-boyfriend Stewart Copeland on drums and bassist Reece Lazarus. After self-releasing a limited cassette, Bully signed with Columbia Records label Startime International and released their debut album Feels Like in June of 2015, leading Pitchfork to state, "The coarse Cobain head-scream of Bully singer, songwriter, and guitarist Alicia Bognanno is its own resuscitating jolt of protest ... . She spends much of Feels Like tearing down the house with her howl."
After a lineup change, Bully's second studio album Losing was released by Sub Pop in 2017, and following the release of the recording, both Lazarus and Copeland's replacement Clayton Parker departed the band, leaving Bognanno its only member. Following some deliberation, Bognanno ultimately opted to continue performing under the moniker, and in 2020, Bully released covers of Nirvana's "About a Girl" and Orville Peck's "Turn to Hate." Of the "About a Girl" cover, Rolling Stone stated "Hearing the Nashville band cover Nirvana is almost too obvious – but, good God, is it glorious. Their spin on 1989's 'About a Girl' strikes a perfect balance of raw and melodic, without ever sounding like the output of a cover band." As for her take on "Turn to Hate", Stereogum called it "a song that sounds incredible in Bully's rocket-fueled garage rock style," with Paste concurring that "Bully's rendition is possibly even better than the original with its incredibly anthemic chorus."
Bully's third record Sugaregg was released by Sub Pop in August of 2020, and following a three-year hiatus in releasing new music, the artist returned with June's Lucky for You, That month, Paste reviewed the best albums of the year so far, ranking Bully's recording at thirteenth for being "another strong collection of anthemic post-grunge that doubles as Bully's poppiest record so far." The Line of Best Fit's Steven Loftin, meanwhile, rated the release a nine out of 10, calling Lucky for You "undoubtedly Bully's best album yet."
Bully performs her Davenport engagement on September 14, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $20, and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
