September 22, 11 a.m., Ivers Square in Downtown Cape Girardeau
A shipyard is a place where incomplete parts are brought together to be built into something new before they are sent back out into the world.
That’s the concept behind the Shipyard Music Festival put on by The Scout, happening in downtown Cape Girardeau September 22. It will be a day for people to come together, enjoy good food, song and cheer, creating community that will help us go back out into the world more complete.
Here, we introduce you to the lineup (and some of your new favorite bands). See you in September.
Jamestown Revival: Meet Shipyard’s headliners, childhood friends Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance. Their albums “Utah” and “The Education of a Wandering Man” discuss coffee, laboring and longing for their home in Magnolia, Texas. Their sound combines Americana rock, classic southern country and killer harmonies. Their debut album “Utah” was named the “2014 Singer/Songwriter Album of the Year” by iTunes music. As people, they add rodeo clowning, beekeeping, tornado chasing, antique hunting and a handlebar mustache to their resumes.
If you’ve ever moved away or lost something and yet know what it means to love deeply, this is a band for you. If you like being told stories, this is a band for you. If you like dirt and think grit is beautiful, this is a band for you. Their music sounds like laying under a tall tree on a hot summer day, or driving down a long stretch of highway at golden hour with the windows down. Look for their third album later this year.
Listen to: “Golden Age” from their debut album “Utah.”
Check them out if you like: The Avett Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Wood Brothers. Or if you like your home.
Vinyl Theatre: Keegan Calmes, Chris Senner and Nick Cesarz comprise Vinyl Theatre. The high school friends met at a cross country meet and continued playing music together throughout college. The Indie rock electropop trio has recently toured with twenty one pilots, Dashboard Confessional and Panic! At the Disco, creating music that combines guitar and synth with honest, in-your-face lyrics about feeling emotions, speaking one’s mind and making decisions when at a crossroads. It’s hard not to move when their whole band plays, and the stripped-down acoustic version of “Feel It All” exposes the raw emotion and vulnerability present in each of their songs. They’re a good band to listen to while going through the struggle of figuring out who you are, or to feel nostalgia for all it means to be in your early 20s. Bonus fun fact: Chris can do a one-armed handstand while playing the piano.
Listen to: “Feel It All” from the 2017 Origami album. Check out the acoustic version, too.
Check them out if you like: Colony House, COIN, twenty one pilots
A Thousand Horses: When you mix country, rock and gospel with a Southern drawl, you get A Thousand Horses. The four members hailing from South Carolina and Georgia have played with Kip Moore, Blackberry Smoke and Darius Rucker, and worked with Dann Huff, the producer of Keith Urban. Their songs deal with the one that got away, the woman who stays and raising a little bit of cane. It’s like mainstream country radio, with a little extra southern-ness. They released their EP “Bridges” in 2017, travel with a nine-piece band complete with three backup singers and have a lotta hair. Listen if you don’t have time to take a road trip to the rural south, or for a rowdy, raging good time.
Listen to: “Southernality” from their debut album “Southernality.”
Check them out if you like: Florida-Georgia Line, Love and Theft, Brothers Osborne
Royal Teeth: This dance Indie pop quartet from Louisiana is vivacious, youthful and optimistic. Their single “Wild” has been featured in many commercials, ads and televisions shows, including American Eagle advertisements, “90210” and the EA Sports “FIFA 13” video game. They’ve also performed on “American Idol” and played at Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo and SXSW. Singing about figuring out relationships and holding on to dreams while growing up, the group puts on a fiercely energetic and fun show, complete with confetti cannons. Listen when you need to be reminded the world is bright and beautiful.
Listen to: “Never Gonna quit,” their latest single. And watch the music video for a little inspiration: age is just a number.
Check them out if you like: Echosmith, Chvrches, Haim
*repeat repeat: What do you do if you don’t want to fit into any of the music genres out there? Create your own. That’s what the husband-wife duo *repeat repeat did. The band, who hails from Nashville, say they blend California surf culture with New York street smarts to create what they call the “surf rock candy genre.” Their music sounds like the ‘60s and playing that whale water gun race game at carnivals, with a hint of mystery mixed in; they combine guitars, harmonies and easy-going percussion to create playful melodies with a touch of dark humor. The band has opened for Neon Trees and was named the “Most Enthusiastic Rockers” by Rolling Stone at this summer’s Bonnaroo. Perhaps even more impressive, Jared the frontman wears only one shirt. Nice.
Listen to: “Girlfriend,” from the sophomore album “Floral Canyon.” Also check out the surprise ending of the music video.
Check them out if you like: Jukebox the Ghost, Night Riots, Portugal. The Man
Elliot Root: Elliot Root’s four members describe themselves as alternative, blending pop, indie and soft rock to create music that feels like traveling through time and space. The band has recently toured with NEEDTOBREATHE, X Ambassadors and Lord Huron. Their debut album “Conjure,” released in 2017, has a running storyline that tells a story of frontman Scott Krueger’s view of the human condition. One of its singles, “10,000,” details the feeling of weightlessness and anxiety when in an airplane, conveying the feeling of flying high above the earth. Krueger’s voice is emotional and at once gravelly and smooth, and the band’s music gives space to both be present and reflect.
Listen to: “10,000” from the “Conjure” album.
Check them out if you like: The Revivalists, Kings of Leon, Hozier
Ryan Corn: Singer, songwriter, producer Ryan Corn got his start singing in church right here in Southeast Missouri. His song “Wonderful Things” won a radio contest, leading to a contract with Curb Records. Now living in Nashville, he’s worked with Grammy-winning engineer/mixer Vance Powell, who has worked with Chris Stapleton. Corn’s acoustic guitar, trumpet and lyrics bring fresh perspective to relationship and what it means to love, and you should listen to him if you want to smile. His latest EP “The Pressure” was released in 2017.
Listen to: “The Pressure” from “The Pressure” EP
Check him out if you like: Gavin DeGraw, NEEDTOBREATHE, Fairground Saints
Want to be the first to know all things Shipyard? Sign up for The Scout daily emails at thescout.io. For more information and to volunteer, go to shipyardfest.com.
