The Nightfall Music Series brought local singer/songwriter Megan Saunders & The Driftless (Megan Saunders, Jason Reed and Ashley Cofield) to the stage on Friday for the opening for Eric Pulido w/ Midlake Band.
Megan Saunders & The Driftless has been described as having a style that captures the area of the American Midwest that escaped damage by glaciers during the last glaciation. It was a refuge, allowing resident flora and fauna to thrive while those in surrounding areas were decimated by large-scale upheaval. This is what music is for the Chattanooga-based band - a sanctuary from the sometimes rough waters of everyday life.
Together with Jason Reed (guitar) and Ashley Cofield (violin), Megan’s songs build a sense of story and place, with a sound that spans playful and luminous to sultry and haunting, all the while keeping a foot in American roots music. Together they create a joyous space, a refuge that you can share. As Tom Miller (concert programmer) explains, “The plaintive original melodies of Megan Saunders and The Driftless can take you to an earthy, vintage, dream-like setting.
They will hold you there like a feast of comfort food with no bones to pick or rinds to peel or bitter tastes to distract - seamless pleasure.” Catch up with the band on Facebook social media as Megan Saunders Music or web at http://www.thedriftless.net/
The headliner was Texas native Eric Pulido (front man for Midlake Band), who brought his extraordinary style in trio form. Eric’s contribution with Midlake is exhaustive as the band pushes another year of touring and supporting a long-awaited recording of new collection of material. Midlake calls their fourth album “Antiphon.” The drain on the band of such a fast-paced tour schedule left the band ready for a break.
Eric mentioned, “We were quite pleased and blown away by how it was received, despite his departure. I was really thankful for that. … But at the same time, through it all, we all felt throughout the process that it was time to put the ship in the dock and just take a breath.”
Last year, Midlake cooled the jets and took a much-needed break. The respite allowed the members to reinvest time with families and friends and consider some secondary projects.
Eric Pulido ventures in some solo gigs occasionally engaging a couple of his band members from Midlake. Eric engaged his audience at Nightfall, while enjoying the huge crowd that assembled to be part of week four of the extended music series
The evening performance included more than 90 minutes of acoustic music pulling from Midlake’s four-album discography as well as a handful of covers.
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Mark A Herndon, certified professional geologist and professional photographer grew up in Chattanooga area, graduated from the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. He is the Entertainment and Chattanooga cityscape/event photographer affiliated with Chattanoogan.com and contributor to magazines, venues and various festivals including Riverbend Festival, Nightfall Music Series, Southern Brewery Festival, Roof Top Hop, Wine Over Water and other events.
Email at MAHerndon@ChattanoogaLiveMusic.com