Kim Register of Loamlands

Loamlands, an alt-indie band from Durham, North Carolina opened the show last night at Brooklyn Bazaar. Kym Register, guitar and vocals, swooned the crowd with her velvety smooth yet powerful voice. She sounded like a modern Stevie Nicks. (The band gets compared to Fleetwood Mac all the time.) Register sang with so much power and soul, her songs with themes of being vulnerable, the LGBTQ community, and the general intolerance of being yourself. Register spoke of embracing being sad at the show, for it is very important to feel your feelings wholeheartedly.

Will Hackney, Loamlands

With elements of country, classic rock, and folk, Loamlands has a unique sound of their own. Will Hackney, lead guitarist and sometimes vocals, played like a guitar god last night. He seamlessly finger-picked his guitar without the use of a pick and the skill level alone was impressive. Sliding to and fro with a slide as well as finger-picking was like hearing an angel play. Loamlands played songs off their 2016 album, Sweet High Rise like “Restless One”, “You the Mountain”, and “What Kind of Love”, a song about being in an abusive relationship and fantasizing about killing the abuser. 

Check out Loamlands album, Sweet High Rise here.

Nana Grizol, originating from Athens, Georgia, is the headliner for this tour with Loamlands. They consist of Theo Hilton, lead vocals and guitar, Matt Cathcart on drums, Jared Gandy on bass, and Robbie Cucchiaro on trumpet, euphonium, and tambourine. Hilton had a powerful voice on him and accompanied with the brass by Cucchiaro, Nana Grizol put on a spectacular show. They played slow, sad songs as well as their upbeat tunes, all brought out more with the brass instruments flowing through each song, adding to the mood.

Hilton spoke about how the gay community has been so supportive of him, but before that emergence, he grew up in a small town surrounded by straight people. At the show, he spoke of political justice and criticizing political leaders, followed by their popular song, “Mississippi Swells”, a song about oil refineries in the Mississippi watershed. Nana Grizol played songs from all three of their albums, including songs like “Tambourine N’ Thyme”, “Atoms”, “Cynicism”, and “Bright Cloud”. Both bands played an incredible show, and would highly recommend catching them on tour because nothing beats a live set! Get tickets here.

To view my article on Stars & Scars, with video content, go here!