Set times and bands:
5pm – The Suffers
This big, brassy, Gulf Coast soul band from Houston, Texas, is led by the dynamic Kam Franklin who, along with her nine bandmates, recently inspired fans to help crowdfund their debut album, due out later this year. The Suffers‘ bold 2015 EP, Make Some Room, earned them a spot on “The Late Show with David Letterman” in March and their eclectic sound, which reaches to rock, R&B, and reggae, made the ten-piece collective a SXSW standout this past spring. They’ll be at Mercury Lounge on September 25 too.
6pm – Fraser A. Gorman
Championed by fellow Australian Courtney Barnett, Melbourne’s Fraser A. Gorman‘s 2015 debut album, Slow Gum, landed on her label, Milk!, and the two friends often appear in each other videos (see his clip for “Shiny Gun” below, featuring Barnett). Gorman leans more towards a classic Laurel Canyon or Americana sound than Barnett; rather than caustic guitar, he opts for a more loping, country flair. Equally comfortable covering Jackson C. Frank’s “Blues Run The Game” with singer Leah Senior or unfurling his own mournful gems, like “Blossom & Snow,” Gorman is a smart, refreshing new voice, deftly balancing the somber and the sweetly subversive.
7pm – Martin Courtney
Best known as the vocalist and guitarist for Real Estate, Martin Courtney embarks on his own solo path this autumn with a debut album, Many Moons, due out October 30 on Domino. For his first single “Vestiges,” a dreamy, mellow track that shudders with a chorus of sighs and a gentle, jammed-out instrumental coda, Courtney tapped bassist Jarvis Taveniere and drummer Aaron Neveu of Woods as his backing band. The balance of Courtney’s 10-track album is teased as “soft psychedelia that recalls the Kinks and Big Star,” but the New Jersey musician doesn’t stray far from Real Estate’s lush vibe. In fact, Real Estate keyboardist Matt Kallman is also on board the album.
8pm – Hooton Tennis Club
The euphoric, jangling guitar rock of Liverpool’s Hooton Tennis Club is both goofy and disarmingly smart, bathed in swoony summertime vibes and hummable hooks. The quartet’s debut album, Highest Point in Cliff Town, dropped in late August on Heavenly Recordings on the heels of wiry singles like “Jasper” and “Kathleen Sat On the Arm of her Favourite Chair.” While there’s a raucous ’90s squall to their sound, the four childhood friends (who hail from Chester and Ellesmere Port) found inspiration in the very contemporary, DIY way that bands like Deerhunter recorded music and built their fanbase. Signed by their record label after a mere three live gigs, Hooton Tennis Club reached out to the eclectically-minded Bill Ryder Jones, former guitarist for the Coral, to produce the dozen songs on the album, all of which reflect real experiences in their lives.
Past FUV Live at CMJ artists include James Bay, Lucius, Elle King, Horse Thief, Son Little, Happyness, Savoir Adore, Indians (now Søren Juul), Claire, Saint Rich, Little Green Cars and Wax Poetic.