David Wax Museum at the Codfish Hollow Barn -- November 23.
Saturday, November 23, 8 p.m.
Codfish Hollow Barn, 5013 288th Avenue, Maquoketa IA
With the songs on their latest recording You Must Change Your Life lauded by No Depression as possessing "an easy flow that emphasizes the catchy melodies," the folk and roots-duo David Wax Museum closes the 2024 concert season at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, their November 23 concert treating fans to what Under the Radar calls the musicians' "joyous vibrancy that feels fresh and vital."
"While a student at Harvard University," as is stated at AllMusic.com, "singer/songwriter David Wax nurtured his burgeoning interest in Mexican folk music by taking frequent trips south of the border to further his musical studies. After meeting singer and fiddler Suz Slezak back in Cambridge, Wax fused his Mexican-inspired songs with Slezak's Appalachian and Irish influences in a style they dubbed 'Mexo-Americana.' Under the name David Wax Museum, the two released their debut LP, I Turned Off Thinking About, in 2008 and began touring their eclectic sound across the U.S. Following the release of their 2009 follow-up, Carpenter Bird, they entered and won a song contest that landed them a spot at the 2010 Newport Folk Festival. Their breakout performance at the festival raised the band's profile dramatically and by the time they had released their critically acclaimed 2011 LP, Everything Is Saved, David Wax Museum were playing high-profile slots at South by Southwest and had moved up to Newport's main stage. With the release of 2012's Knock Knock Get Up, their sound began to broaden, becoming more expansive and experimental with increasing rock influences.
"Merely friends when they began the project in 2008, Wax and Slezak eventually married and the challenges of raising a family on the road became a major influence on their approach to 2015's Guesthouse, which saw them taking increasingly bolder artistic risks. The album was a high point for the duo, hitting number 20 on Billboard's Folk chart and entering the Heatseekers chart at number nine. In September 2017, to celebrate both their 1,000th show and their tenth anniversary as a band, David Wax Museum released a collection of rarities and B-sides called Electric Artifacts. Working with My Morning Jack's Carl Broemel, they recorded their next studio album, Line of Light, which was released in 2019." As 2023's You Must Change Your Life was additionally hailed by the Boston Herald as "another genius album from David Wax Museum," the duo's plaudits continue to amass, with the New York Times' James C. McKinley Jr. describing the band's style as "a lively and rustic cross-border mix: lonesome Appalachian harmonies over mariachi horn lines and rhythms you might hear at a rural dance in Veracruz or San Luis Potosí."
David Wax Museum brings their tour to Maquoketa on November 23, admission to the 8 p.m. concert event is $40, and more information and tickets are available by visiting CodfishHollowBarnstormers.com.
