Acoustic-soul duo Benyaro will return to John’s Alley Tuesday and Wednesday as part of its current tour.
“We play guitar, upright base, base drum, high hat, shaker, harmonica and sing. It’s all played by two people kind of simultaneously,” said lead singer Ben Musser. “Sometimes we call it a power duo.”
Musser is accompanied by Bobby McCullough. The duo from New York City started its current tour Jan. 19 at the Sundance Film Festival where their music was featured as part of a preview for a movie called “Our Longest Drive,” which will be released at the festival next year.
The musicians each play a number of instruments to produce a full acoustic sound.
“My right foot plays the kick drum, and then my left foot kind of has a shaker tucked in the shoelaces, and then I have my guitar and I sing, and the harmonica is on a harmonica holder,” Musser said. “Its high risk, high reward.”
McCullough plays the upright base, high hat and assists on vocals.
The band played at John’s Alley for the first time in July and is excited to return to the Palouse.
“In the summer it seems like it’s pretty slow-going. We’re looking forward to playing while school’s in session,” Musser said. “We’re looking forward to trying to connect with more people and cultivate more of a following in Moscow.”
The band was featured in Relix magazine and the Nashville Scene in 2011, and is compared to the Avett Brothers, acoustic David Bowie and Cat Stevens.
The group produces soulful, honest songs that explore a number of diverse styles including beat box sounds, “acoustic disco house,” blues, soul and folk.
Benyaro’s latest album Good Day Better was released in 2010.
“We’ll play a lot of our repertoire. We’ll just have to kind of figure out the order according to the crowd,” Musser said. “We feel like our music was well received last time but it was just not a very big crowd because it was in the dead of summer. We’re looking forward to just kind of meeting more people in Moscow, meeting some college kids, and getting the word out about Benyaro.”
The group will play from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at John’s Alley. Info Box
To listen to Benyaro, learn more about the band, see videos and check out upcoming tour dates visit benyaro.com.