Bands rock at WhySound as part of Logan City Limits
Logan’s music scene had students and community members flocking to WhySound Friday night to see three bands in the Logan City Limits lineup.
Roadie, Michael Barrow and the Tourists, and Roseburg all took the stage as part of Aggie Radio’s annual Logan City Limits music and art festival.
Brandon Ellis, an event organizer for Aggie Radio 92.3 FM said that the intent of Logan City Limits is to introduce local and regional music groups to the community.
“Right after last year’s festival ended, we started planning this one,” Ellis said. “We’ve had weekly meetings since January to make sure that this is the best it can be.”
Ellis was an assistant to the event organizer last year, but this year has taken the reigns himself.
“We sit down and talk about what went well and what we can do better,” Ellis said. “My goal is to create a high-energy event and get people dancing and moving. A lot of the bands we already know, and the community knows, and they reach out to us every year, so the process of picking the performers has to be just right.”
The three-night event began on Thursday at The Cache Venue with three bands, Ugly Boys, Painted Roses and Summerbloom, and continued on Friday with the show at WhySound.
Aubree Schill, lead singer of Roadie, said that she loves events like Logan City Limits because they give the band the opportunity to collaborate together and get a feel for their stage presence around other bands.
Roadie is a six-piece American-soul band that started out with Schill playing as a solo singer-songwriter.
“I always felt drawn to the full band sound, as I really love the way having a group of people collaborating impacts the sound on recordings,” Schill wrote in an email.
“I met each of the band members at different points in the music scene as I got more involved, and I feel incredibly lucky to get to work with such talented and amazing people,” Schill wrote.
The band is made up of Heath Edwards on drums, Bao Ha on the trombone, Kamen Myers on the trumpet, Adrian de la Cruz on lead guitar and Peter Knowles on bass.
De la Cruz also performs with the band Cinders.
“He’s a phenomenal musician,” Schill said. “It’s a great group, and each musician adds their own musical color and personality to the mix. I love working with them.”
Schill said that Roadie’s music has some western flair, “but with the roots and pizazz of old-time soul music.”
Schill lists Ray LaMontagne, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats, and Anderson East, as some of her biggest influences as a songwriter. “My biggest goal with our songs is to create music that makes the listener feel something, whether that is feeling like getting up and moving or reflecting on how one grew through a difficult experience,” she wrote.
Schill’s family lives in Logan and both of her parents attended USU at different points in their college careers.
“I have a big place in my heart for the school and the city,” Schill wrote. “We were thrilled to get the chance to participate in Logan City Limits and love that USU is working to support the local music scene with such a great event.”
Roadie will be touring through Utah and returning to Logan in May. The band is working on its first full-length album, and Schill said she is excited to share their new sound since adding a brass section to the band.
“I think all of us in the band would agree that music is the thing we’re most drawn to,” Schill wrote. “We wouldn’t be working so hard to pursue and create it if it didn’t mean the world to us. When you hear a song you relate to, you suddenly realize you’re not alone in whatever emotion that song draws out of you. It’s the truest human language because it can go beyond words.”
Michael Barrow and the Tourists also performed Friday in Logan. Barrow’s band has been together for just over three years after Barrow wrote a song called “The List” for their first album.
“We all came together to arrange and record a full-band version of the song,” Barrow said. “After we finished, they asked if I wanted to start a band with them. So, we did just that.”
Band members include Barrow on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mark Lanham on lead guitar, Zach Collier on keys, Alessandro Improta on bass, and Reed Perkins on drums.
“Lately we’ve been classifying our music as Indie soul and roots rock,” Barrow said. “We’ve played at WhySound a couple of times, and it’s always an awesome experience.”
Logan City Limits wrapped up on Saturday with five more bands taking the stage at the Taggart Student Center.
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@GrahamWoodMedia