- This event has passed.
Music at the Dairy present Spencer LaJoye, with Sturtz and Olivia Roumel
March 18 @ 7:00 pm
$25
Spencer LaJoye makes queer indie folk music for everyone. With a coy smile, a wink to the back row, and carefree expertise, they spin their crystalline vocals through a loop pedal while strumming the weathered acoustic guitar they acquired for leading worship in high school. “I don’t believe in much anymore,” they announce to teary-eyed audiences, “except a little bit of everything. And you. And me. And that art can change the world simply by making us feel something.”
The 2021 Kerrville Songwriting Competition and 2024 Songwriter Serenade winner brings charming and banter-heavy performances to theaters, listening rooms, church sanctuaries, backyards, folk festivals, spiritual conferences, and queer clubs keep diverse audiences laughing one moment and weeping the next.
Sturtz was escribed by NPR’s All Songs Considered as “a reassuring breath of fresh air that pulls me back to simpler times.” Usually a quartet, for this set they will be a duo of Andrew Sturtz [vocals, guitar] and Courtlyn Carpenter [cello, harmonies]. They tend to be serene and folksy, with melodic vocals soaring over the lower string instrumentals.
Opening the show is writer, singer, and guitarist Olivia “Liv” Roumel. She paints raw, yet ethereal storytelling with an intricate harmonic foundation. Based in Colorado, much of her music is written and influenced by her introspection while in nature, leading her to coin the term “nature-soul”.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO GLENN’S PICKS – A CURATED SPOTIFY PLAYLISTSome of you may know that for a big part of my adult life I was a live sound engineer for concerts, working for venues and sound companies as well as traveling several major tours. What that means in this context is that I’ve spent tens of thousands of hours intently listening to live music performances, trying to make it sound rich and full, while also making sure that the lyrics were as clearly understandable as possible. While this process is often very clinical in focus, once in a while a song would cut right through and knock me off my feet, and I would literally find myself behind the console with tears in my eyes and my soul turned inside out. This is the power of the singer/songwriter, to reach those hidden places and let us know that our feelings are real, and that we are not alone, and that our shared human experience can transform our lived reality. When this happens, I think we are actually experiencing a miracle, a bit of everyday magic, the stuff that reminds us that we are all part of a highly unlikely conspiracy of matter and energy to arrange itself into beauty and meaning.
The songs on this playlist fit into this category, starting with Spencer LaJoye, who is performing in person at the Dairy on March 18. I have personally mixed live performances of all but two of the artists on this list, so let me tell you that there is an immediacy in live music that cuts through your filters differently than recorded music, the same way that spending time with a friend in person is different from talking to them on the phone. Also, these intimate shows in small venues are much more likely to have the shared vibe when everyone in the room gets on the same wavelength, and we create a temporary world outside of time and space, just like Deadheads claim, but without the long lines and strong aromas.