Friday, May 8th, I spent my evening at Musica for the Shivering Timbers Tour Send-off. Three bands hit the stage and gave the audience a night of good tunes.

Dynamo Love started us off with a mix of rock, folk, and blues. They’re an Akron-based band and I thought they were good. Not spectacular, but good.

My biggest issue dealt with the fact that the vocalist’s mic needed to be turned up. She has a good voice but she was drowned out. It was a good set nonetheless. You can check out their music here.

The Help and the Hands are an Akron-based, gypsy-folk band. They’ve been featured on the blog before and I love their sound because it’s unusual. Each member has a stage name. From left to right it goes Mr. Book, Page, The Saint, and Slim. I do not believe the last gentleman is a permanent member because Lizz is normally the bassist.

Mr. Book has a voice reminiscent of Tom Waits. It’s rough, starts low and rises slowly. It’s pairs well with their overall sound. They released an album last fall under their previous moniker “The Help” and it was good. You can check it out here. I hear that they’re shooting for another one this upcoming fall.

Shivering Timbers were the last to hit the stage and kicked off their tour with a bang. This is their first “proper” Akron show in about a year and it was better than expected. For those of you that don’t know, they are an Akron folk-rock band composed of Sarah and Jayson Benn with drummer, Daniel Kshywonis.

I have a growing fondness for their unique sound and I love that the band developed because of Sarah and Jayson’s daughter (featured above). They all have such great stage presence and interact with their audience. I believe that this show is the one that truly made me a fan of them. You can check out their music videos and albums here and here.

Overall, it was a great way to spend a Friday night. This area is bursting with such talent. I hope you enjoy these bands as much as I did.

Thanks for reading,