Tall Tall Trees at the Raccoon Motel -- March 1.
Saturday, March 1, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Lauded by Americana Highways for his "unique catalogue of simultaneously inviting and unexpected sonic adventures," Tall Tall Trees – the performing moniker of multi-instrumentalist Mike Savino – headlines a March 1 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, his 2020 release A Wave of Golden Things earning particular praise for being "at once reflective and brooding, as well as open and heartfelt."
Born in Long Island, New York, Savino played bass guitar and sax in his younger days. He studied the jazz double bass at The New School, and touring in South America, combined with his general exposure to world music during this period, catalyzed Savino's love of folk music. After experimenting with a banjo he'd picked up while touring, he started working on songs that would become the 2009 eponymous debut of Tall Tall Trees, released on Savino's own Good Neighbor Records. This debut was followed by his more introspective sophomore album Moment.
Savino toured extensively to promote Moment, performing solo at most of the gigs. During this phase, Savino also became a regular in Kishi Bashi's touring band, playing his custom banjo and singing backup on multiple tours. Tall Tall Trees' 2014 EP The Seasonal showcased the expanded use of the banjo he'd evolved and empowered, inflecting his sound with a new and more distinctly psychedelic ambience.
In 2015, Savino worked as the caretaker of a vacant health resort surrounded by forest in Georgia for several months. Taking advantage of the solitude, he went to work on Tall Tall Trees third full-length album, Freedays. Although the album was conceived as a solo-effort, Savino enlisted the help of Kishi bashi and drummers Philip Mayer and Claude Coleman, Jr.(Ween) for finishing touches. Tall Tall Trees signed with Joyful Noise Recordings in the autumn of 2016, releasing Freedays in early 2017.
On his 2020 LP A Wave of Golden Things, Savino abandoned the heavily-layered textures of 2017’s Freedays for a more organic, stripped-down approach, leaving his distinct voice as the centerpiece and opting for an immersive experience – setting up residence and a mobile recording rig on a hemp farm in the Appalachian mountains. He is currently touring in support of his 2023 recording Stick to the Mystical I.
Tall Tall Trees' Davenport engagement on March 1 finds Mike Savino joined by openers Lauren Lovelle & the Midnight Splits, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $15.88, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
