Sicard Hollow plays what they call “psychedelic punk-grass” — Nashville bluegrass run through Grateful Dead improvisation and a skate-and-destroy ethos that the band says owes nothing to genre convention. The four-piece plays Lark Hall in Albany on Friday, October 9.
About the Show
The band formed in Nashville in 2018, which is interesting mostly because of where each member started. Matt Rennick had been working in electronic music. Will Herrin played guitar in rock bands. Alex King was barely active musically. Parrish Gabriel joined on bass in fall 2019, completing the four-piece. Bluegrass emerged organically from their early jams, and the band has been treating that unplanned starting point as license to push the genre wherever they want. Violin, mandolin, guitar, bass: instrumentation pointed somewhere new.
Their 2022 sophomore album Brightest of Days documents where that takes them. No Depression called it “a progressive bluegrass sound with no allegiance to a set of rules or traditions.” Bluegrass Today credited an “adventurous approach that pushes at the parameters,” with the mandolin-and-violin interplay between Herrin and Rennick driving the instrumental arrangements throughout. A track called “Metamorphosis Prophecy” makes good on that description. The record closes on a line that reads like a mission statement: “You can’t change the weather, but you can dance in the rain” — what No Depression’s reviewer characterized as “pragmatic optimism.” Goldmine Magazine called them “top shelf talent”; Grateful Web named them “one of the most exciting new artists on the scene today.” Coverage has appeared in Relix, Glide Magazine, Bluegrass Situation, No Depression, and the Nashville Scene.
The festival circuit has backed up the press. They’ve shared stages with Umphrey’s McGee, The String Cheese Incident, Greensky Bluegrass, Sam Bush, the Infamous Stringdusters, and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at Summer Camp, Peach Music Festival, Back Home Festival, and WinterWonderGrass. The band’s live album, recorded at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, gives a sense of what their improvisation-heavy sets sound like given enough room to develop.
Venue & Logistics
Lark Hall is at 351 Hudson Ave in Albany, a 300-capacity club that puts you close to the band’s instrumental work. Albany anchors the capital region. Doors open at 7 p.m. for an 8 p.m. show. Free parking is available. This is a 21+ event.
Tickets
Tickets are $24–$30. Note the no-refunds policy before buying. Buy tickets