Ham Shannon, Admiral Fox, Joe Bartel, & Critterthing

Ham Shannon is a songwriter who mostly stopped singing the last decade. After years of focus on guitar playing, he is finally ready to share his voice. "My favorite guitarist," Eric LeBlanc, gay icon and lead singer of Ginny & The Fizz. Over the course of over 100 shows as a guitarist for Annex Panda and Ginny & The Fizz, the creation, recording, and release of two EPs and two LPs, and another decade of life, a well earned confidence has emerged. Songs written over the last twenty years in many different contexts have been refined to suit a trio focused on Ham's eclectic indie-kid turned emo-dad aesthetic. For Fans Of: Pavement, The Hold Steady, Hiss Golden Messenger Joe Bartel’s core messages are sincerity and fearlessness. He writes about death. He sings about love. He questions and criticizes masculinity (one’s bravery, one’s beard, one’s balls) head-on. A true romantic just barely underneath a gruff surface, Joe Bartel refuses the trite in favor of tirelessness. Joe is an artery connecting the nationwide DIY bloodstream. Lovingly recognized within the Twin Cities community as a gracious host promoter of local shows, Joe has hosted dozens of artists at DIY space Badger's Den, and formerly 319 Club. Joe Bartel has earned comparisons to iconic rock and folk songwriters like Jeff Rosenstock and The Mountain Goats. He draws sonic and lyrical inspiration from The Clash, Jeff Buckley, Blur, and Leonard Cohen. The compositions on American Poison range from heartwrenching ballads and lighter-swaying anthems to hardcore breakdowns and showcase Joe's trademark punchy lyricism. For Fans Of: The Mountain Goats, Blur, Jeff Rosenstock Admiral Fox is Dan DeMarco, Lucas Rollo, and Ben Ouellette. Their sounds range from introspective indie folk to synth-flavored garage rock. Following the release of their 2020 EP Nowhere is Safe, their music has been slanting away from the acoustic singer-songwriter crooners of their debut, and heading into louder, more electric, and more socially conscious territory. Though they’ll always find time for a sad-boy ballad or three. For Fans Of: Grizzly Bear, Artic Monkeys, The Elected Critterthing: diy jangle punk For Fans Of: The Feelies, Alvvays, Kiwi Jr.