Deer Scout headline The Broadway with support from Gemma Laurence, Griffy Jones, Awksymoron + Dale Jr!
7:00PM Doors // 8:00PM Show
21+
$12 presale // $15 dos
Deer Scout
Though Dena Miller grew up in a family of New York folk musicians, and recorded their earliest childhood songs on a toy cassette player, they spent their teen years in the crowd at DIY shows rather than onstage. But a relocation to Philadelphia for college found them woodshedding in their dorm room, and Deer Scout’s earliest songs were born. Centering Miller’s singular voice and intimate lyricism, Deer Scout was quickly welcomed into Philly’s legendary DIY scene, especially at fabled punk fraternity Pilam and erstwhile house venue All Nite Diner. Early cassette release Customs formally introduced Miller’s studied sparseness and pointed songcraft. 2017’s “sad boy,” satirized liberal arts’ special brand of toxic masculinity over plotted drum machines and gossamer synths (produced by Miller’s father, Mark, who they describe as a favorite songwriter and major influence). Along the way, Miller grew the project by touring storied alternative show spaces like Silent Barn, Flywheel and PhilaMOCA, and sharing stages with artists including Waxahatchee, Yowler and Told Slant.
Six years after the project’s start, Miller has moved back to their hometown of New York and is ready to release their debut full length, Woodpecker, with Carpark Records. Though its earliest songs were written during that prolific freshman year—like “Synesthesia,” penned almost instantly on a train ride home from a basement show—Miller’s taken time to fastidiously rearrange, working alongside trusted friends and collaborators: Ko Takasugi-Czernowin on bass, Zuzia Weyman on cello, Henry Munson on pedal steel, and Max Rafter on drums. With primary engineering and mixing from Heather Jones at Philly’s So Big Auditory, Woodpecker was eventually completed at home by Miller, whose piecemeal approach to finishing the record results in its lush intentionality. The family folk influence shines through in Miller’s distinctive playing and voice, but tension-building string arrangements, droning pull-off riffs, and rattling drum play complicate the mix, channeling Americana and lo-fi forebears like Cat Power. Though the stillness in Miller’s arrangements may give an initial sense of smallness, Deer Scout’s songs are like dollhouse miniatures, laden with complexity. Through Miller’s open-hearted yearning, Deer Scout’s music feels at once safe and limitless.
Ok Cowgirl
Earworm melodies, elements of shoegaze, classic country, and rock all intermingle effortlessly in the sonic world of Ok Cowgirl. Described by The Deli as “Patsy Cline meets Radiohead,” the Brooklyn-based indie rock project draws upon a wealth of experience playing and working in bars, clubs, and DIY spaces across the New York music scene. Fronted by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Leah Lavigne and backed by Matt Birkenholz on drums, John Miller on bass, and Jake Sabinsky on guitar, Ok Cowgirl cut their teeth as a live band before releasing their debut EP "Not My First Rodeo" in December 2021. The group's first full length record is forthcoming.
Gemma Laurence
Gemma Laurence is a Brooklyn-based indie folk singer-songwriter from the coast of Maine. Categorizing herself as “Sapphic folk,” Laurence has been named an “up-and-comer” in the queer music scene by NPR Music and starred on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon leading up to the release of her sophomore album, Lavender (out now on Better Company Records). Having grown up on the coast of Maine and the hills of Oxfordshire, Laurence’s time on both sides of the Atlantic influenced her unique sound: a fusion of foot-stomping Americana with a hint of English folk. Crafting a lush soundscape of rich acoustic textures, dreamy harmonies, and found sounds, Laurence’s timeless tracks call her listeners home to the people and places left behind for new beginnings.