Rum Ragged at the Raccoon Motel -- October 17.
Tuesday, October 17, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
A pair of acclaimed folk acts that each debuted over the past eight years will take the stage at the Raccoon Motel on October 17, with the Davenport venue hosting an evening showcasing the talents of Rum Ragged, the Canadian folk music group from Newfoundland and Labrador, and Adrian + Meredith, the Nashville-based outfit featuring the titular married musicians.
Most noted for their 2020 album The Thing About Fish that was a shortlisted Juno Award nominee for Traditional Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021, Rum Ragged originally consisted of accordionist Aaron Collis and singer/guitarist Mark Manning. The band released its self-titled debut album in 2016 and followed it with the album The Hard Times and the holiday-themed album titled Rum Ragged at Christmas, both released in 2018, with new supporting members Anthony Chafe on bodhran and Michael Boone on bass and banjo. Chafe and Boone were subsequently replaced by fiddler Colin Grant and multi-instrumentalist Zack Nash in early 2019, and in addition to their Juno Award nomination, the band received two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, including for New/Emerging Artist of the Year at the 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards. Rum Ragged has been nominated for several East Coast Music Awards and won 10 MusicNL awards, and with their sound boasting bouzouki, fiddle, bodhran, banjo, guitar, and button accordion, these new champions of East Coast music enliven and enlighten audiences with their signature brand of Newfoundland folk.
Since the release of their debut album More Than a Little, the duo of Adrian + Meredith has been pounding the pavement and putting their own spin on Americana music through tunes that boast the spirit of punk, the twang of folk, the flavor of polka, and the bounce of swing. Adrian was already 10 years into an acclaimed solo career when Meredith made a guest appearance on his 2014 release ROAM. Since then, the pair’s partnership has grown into a full-time collaboration, with the two swapping harmonies, trading solos, and acting as co-pilots both on and off the stage. Adrian was born on the Canadian/Detroit border, raised on rock, punk, and soul music, with a carnival barker’s croon and an off-the-wall “claw-hammer guitar” approach to playing the acoustic guitar. Meanwhile, Meredith was a nearby Ann Arbor, Michigan, native who cut her teeth in the old-time music scene playing traditional fiddle and clogging. Those two approaches come together with Adrian + Meredith, a project that honors the traditions of folk and Americana music while pushing beyond those genres’ boundaries.
Rum Ragged and Adrian + Meredith play their Davenport engagement on October 17, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $20, and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
