Hooten Hallers – Delilah Dewylde – Dangling Participles
Written by John Face
May 17, 2023
On Saturday, May 20, the Albion Malleable Brewing Company (AMB) will celebrate its 5th anniversary in a way that locals have become accustomed to, bringing great music to Albion. Their annual event has been one of the top celebrations in the city, and this year looks to be the same.
The Malleable, as locals call it, has been a source of good music since it opened. Every Monday night, except the first Monday of the month, has live music inside or outside during the summer at 7:00 P.M. Add to this their home-brewed beer and excellent menu; they have been able to blend the old of Albion with the new while making everyone feel at home.
This year is going to be, in the writers’ opinion, an epic day. It all starts as they open early for their breakfast brunch at 10:00 A.M., followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce at noon. They then shut down Ash Street beside the restaurant to start building the stage.
Hooten Hallers
The day’s headliners, The Hooten Hallers, start at 7:00 P.M., and according to band member Kellie Everett, to describe the band’s musical style is like this, “We tend to say it’s ‘loud blues’ and rock’n’roll, but there are some elements of punk, jazz, and country mixed in there as well.” She also says, “We often get compared to George Thorogood, Morphine, Tom Waits, and ZZ Top, which are all across the board too. Instrumentally, we’re a power trio but with the electric bass replaced by baritone and bass saxophone”.
Guitarist John Randall and drummer Andy Rehm formed the band 16 years ago. They performed as a duo until 2013, when she started playing some bass sax for them and joined the group a year later. “Since then,” she says, “we’ve been honing our style and expanding our sound, figuring out new ways to combine our musical abilities and influences.”
One of the challenges of a band that’s been around for as long as they have is “writing new songs that sound fresh and interesting while still being true to our roots, but I think we’ve still got plenty of surprises up our sleeves,” she states.
The group is touring with members John Randall- guitar, lap steel guitar, and lead vocals from Columbia, MO; Andy Rehm- drums, falsetto vocals from Columbia, MO; and Kellie Everett- baritone sax, bass sax, vocals from St Louis, MO.
Kelly describes the group’s vocal styles; John’s deeper and more gruff lead vocal is paired with Andy’s prominent higher falsetto vocals. “I occasionally chime in on harmony vocals, too,” she says. “In our live show, we have a lot of energy and love to get people moving and dancing.”
The group is touring, and I asked Kellie what it has been like on the road. “We’ve recently been out on the road with Blues Traveler and Rev Peyton’s Big Damn Band,” she said, “and both of those bands are a real blast to share the stage with. Our tour schedule has been pretty busy since our latest album, ‘Back in Business Again,’ came out last year, including playing in Australia for the first time in January with The Dead South and a big European tour last fall.”
She said the band would spend much of its time this summer in the Midwest and head south and west in the fall. You can follow the band and its tour by going to their website, Click here
Delilah DeWylde and Lee Harvey
At 4:30 P.M., Michigan rockabilly legend Delilah DeWylde will return to Albion with her high-energy show that will have you dancing in the street. We asked Delilah to tell us about the group and found it has a cool story. “We (she and Lee Harvey) initially started out as the rhythm section in the Grand Rapids rockabilly band “DangerVille” in the late 90s,” she said. “In 2004, Lee Harvey (her guitarist) got more serious about switching to guitar (from drums), so we started “Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys” as kind of an alt-country/classic country act.
“As the years went on, it was proving difficult to employ a full-time lap steel player, so we went back to our rockabilly roots in 2010 and continued as a trio until 2016.” It would be at this time that she and Lee Harvey took a new direction, “In 2016, we became a duo, and that’s when we dropped the “Lost Boys” part of our name and dug into even more of a traditional rockabilly sound (early rock actually did not feature drums).’
Delilah did me a favor and explained their music: “For those unfamiliar with the “rockabilly” term, this refers to the 1950s rock and roll sound happening around America, especially in the South. (Wikipedia has a great entry about it). Loosely, it’s the joining of country and blues, which exploded in mainstream music in 1954/1955. It has many influences; hillbilly music, western swing, old rhythm blues, and bluegrass. At our shows, I talk a lot about the history of 50s rock and its influence on future bands. We concentrate a lot on Sun Records in Memphis, as well as Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley, and some unsung 50s female artists such as Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin.”
Delilah says that their touring is based in northern Michigan, where they currently live. This weekend they are coming specifically for the Malleable anniversary party. They have since scheduled a stop on Friday in South Haven at Harbor Light Brewing. “We’re very excited about the AMB anniversary on Saturday,” She said, “Ben is a great guy and very supportive of live music.”
“Plus,” she said, “the brewery is a great place with stellar beer and food. We also get the rare chance to hang out with some other bands, so we’re very much looking forward to seeing the Dangling Participles and the Hooten Hallers.”
You can follow Delilah and Lee Harvey on their website Click Here
The Dangling Participles
The day starts at 2:00 P.M. with The Dangling Participles taking the stage. The band includes four members, Tamiko Rothhorn, Tim Patterson, Dan Moreno, and Austin Kaufmann, and they have been performing together since 2017. “Tamiko, Tim, and I met while playing together in the folk and jazz bands at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing,” said Kaufman. Later, we started performing out at open mics around Lansing, and that’s where we met our drummer Dan Moreno.
Before this configuration, however, The Dangling Participles were originally a trio of Michigan State University English as a Second Language (ESL) instructors (hence the band name’s grammatical flair). Still, Austin is the only original member of that trio and the only remaining English teacher in the band.
When asked to explain their music, Austin offered this: “When I’m asked to wrap up what The Dang Ps are all about in just a few words, I usually say “jazzy indie-folk,” but “wildly eclectic” might work just as well. Reviewers of our two albums, Present (2019) and One More Drop (2022), described our music as “genre-spanning” and our style as featuring “storied lyrics, infectious multi-part harmonies, and vibrant folk-jazz instrumentation.”
I think those descriptions ring true, but I think there’s one other descriptor I should mention: our positive vibe. Fans often tell us they love the fun and energy we bring to both the stage and to our albums and Local Spins (Grand Rapids) writer Dutcher Snedeker, in his review of One More Drop, seems to agree: “[L]istening to this record feels like a burst of dopamine.”
“Our originals range from indie-folk and Americana to jazz, blues, and pop,” he said, “and with lead vocals and songwriting balanced between both male and female lead singers (Austin Kaufmann and Tamiko Rothhorn), we go all over the place. I think if we had to limit ourselves to a single genre, we’d all get bored!”
This Lansing Michigan based band is comprised of;
Dan Moreno percussion
Tamiko Rothhorn | lead vocals, cornet, ukulele
Austin Kaufmann | lead vocals, guitars, harmonica
Tim Patterson | backing vocals, bass
Keep up to date with them at their website, Click Here
City Watch spoke with Ben Wade, who, along with Dr. Charles Moreau, owns the Malleable. Wade said, “The Dangling Participles is a unique and talented group of musicians with a wholly original sound. Delilah DeWylde is a Michigan treasure! I don’t know anyone who’s ever seen her perform and hasn’t enjoyed the show.
Wade couldn’t get past how excited he was for the upcoming weekend. “I’ve been a fan of The Hooten Hallers for years,” he said, “they bring high-energy rock n’roll with a bluesy, New Orleans twist – they’re one of the great live bands working their butts off on the road, and it’s an honor to have them headlining this event.”
“We’ve probably hosted 250 shows at Albion Malleable in our first five years of business,” Wade said. “For our fifth anniversary, we wanted to create a special day full of fun, high-energy music to accompany our food and beer specials. I’m thrilled with the lineup for Saturday – all three bands are among the best we’ve ever had play here,” he said
So that everyone knows the concerts are free to all. You can sit inside the fenced area or outside. It is a good idea to bring your chair either way. Alcohol sold by the Malleable must be consumed inside the fenced area, and outside food or drinks are prohibited inside the fenced area. Restrooms are available to all inside the Malleable.
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