Urban Heat at the Raccoon Motel -- April 30.
Wednesday, April 30, 6 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Touring in support of their acclaimed August release The Tower, a recording that delivers what the Austin Chronicle calls "deceptively industrial pop that lures you in with its almost ethereal composition," the trio of frontman Jonathan Horstmann, synth player Kevin D. Naquin, and bass player Paxel Foley bring their post-punk outfit Urban Heat to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on April 30, their single "Have You Ever" a viral TikTok hit that received the 2023 Austin Music Award for Best Song.
Horstmann, a native of California, was raised in a conservative Christian family, and had little exposure to popular music growing up. He moved to Austin, Texas, in his 20s, where he had played in Austin-area punk and indie rock bands. After the birth of his first child in 2019, Horstmann began writing songs using synthesizers, and has stated that he did so because it allowed him to write music with headphones on. Although Horstmann had intended to pursue music professionally as a solo project, his friend Naquin insisted that they collaborate after he heard the artist's demos. Foley was consequently recruited to play bass in Urban Heat, as Horstmann was familiar with both him through the Austin indie-music community: he met Naquin at a video shoot for the musician SORNE, and he and Foley were part of the same group of fixie (bicycle) riders.
Unfortunately, Urban Heat's progress was initially halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the trio having been slated to play at the 2020 SXSW festival before it was cancelled. Despite the interruption, however, the musicians released six Urban Heat singles before their debut EP Wellness was released in 2022. In tandem with the recording's debut, the band played at SXSW and the Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2022, and the following year they played SXSW again, as well as at the Cruel World Festival, before embarking on a tour in support of their EP and the single "Goodbye Horses," a cover of Q Lazzarus. Urban Heat's album The Tower was released on the August 16, 2024, nine days after the announcement of the outfit's supporting role on the "Belaya Polosa" tour by Belarussian band Molchat Doma.
Urban Heat plays their Davenport engagement on April 30 with an additional set by Night Ritualz, admission to the 6 p.m. concert is $19.84, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
