Lake Street Dive

Indie roots, contemporary folk, Americana

It's a rare thing to be able to draw a line of comparison between so many artists on a particular record label, but the folks at Signature Sounds tend to have a pretty consistent taste in music. Fans of Eilen Jewell, Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers, fellow North Easterners the Sweetback Sisters, Caroline Herring, and Chris Smither would probably appreciate Lake Street Dive's innovative approach to traditional music. Indeed, they blend all those sounds (folk, country, blues, R&B) into one pleasant pot.

Rachel Price - vocals
Mike "McDuck" Olson - guitar, trumpet
Bridget Kearney - bass
Mike Calabrese - drums

Fun Machine (Signature Sounds, 2012) purchase/download

Lake Street Dive (Signature Sounds, 2010) purchase/download

"This Magic Moment" (from Fun Machine)
"I Want You Back" (from Fun Machine)

Born of the fruitful ground at Boston's New England Conservatory, Lake Street Dive is a collection of musicians from throughout the US. The band's members originally came from cities and states as far-flung as Tennessee, Iowa, Minnesota, and Philadelphia, bringing with them to Boston quite markedly different tastes and musical tendencies. So, it's no wonder the band they formed there was one which would marry so many different styles of music into one cohesive sound.

Though there are elements of folk, blues, and Americana brought into the mix of Lake Street Dive's sound, the heart of it all is an allegiance to jazz. According to their official bio, the band was originally assembled by guitarist and trumpeter Mike "McDuck" Olson, who had the idea of forming a quartet who would play some combination of free jazz and country music. It was a good idea, in theory, but in practice, the band started edging more toward their innate, if dormant, pop instincts (pop, meaning traditional pop, not Top 40-style) and pulling in elements of various forms of roots music. Suddenly, they were appealing to crowds in places as variant as folk festivals and jazz clubs. As such, they fit in nicely with a parade of jazz- and classical-trained instrumentalists from New England who have rooted themselves in traditional American music even as they've seen fit to expand the horizons of these aural traditions.

In the wake of earning a reward from the esteemed John Lennon Songwriting Contest, the quartet pooled some cash and headed to the studio to record their first self-released album, In This Episode... in 2006. They self-released another recording, Promises, Promises before inking a deal with Massachusetts-based indie label Signature Sounds (known for its work with some of folk and roots music's greatest innovators, like Crooked Still, Lori McKenna, Caroline Herring and others) for their self-titled full-length album.

Since dropping that self-titled full-length recording on Signature Sounds - Lake Street Dive - in 2010, the band has made incredible in-roads in the Americana, roots, and indie music communities. They've established a strong and undeniable presence at roots music festivals like Old Settlers Music Festival in Texas and the Albino Skunk Festival in Greer, SC, the Festy Experience, and venues like the Rockwood Music Hall in New York and A Prairie Home Companion on NPR. As 2013 rolls into gear, the band is slated for dates with Yonder Mountain Stringband, Mavis Staples, and Josh Ritter.

To learn more about Lake Street Dive's music, influences, story, and tour dates, keep an eye on their website at LakeStreetDive.com.