It offers both an enclosed pub and an expansive open and closed picnic table patio feel with a nice size stage and good acoustics for the most part. They are up to booking as many as 12 gigs per month with a 6-7pm start time which is sweet for the school nights especially.

Rose & I have been regulars to the KPFT Troubadour Tuesday line-up this year and this gig was our first outside that series. Tonight they featured a dynamic Americana/Outlaw Country duo from Portland, Maine called North of Nashville.  Jay Basinger mans vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, harmonica and bass seemingly all at the same time!   Andrew Martelle chimes in with fabulous fiddle work, mandolin and vocals, too.

They definitely come at you with a larger than life sound for two performers.  This twosome was spawned as a lark from playing in a full band that they did three albums with, This Way, and it soon became a full time project that has kicked ass.

In February of this year they released, “Live at the Rack”, which is a live recording which according to Andrew is what we felt we do best and needed “out there”.  Backing their debut self titled release which was out in April 2014 the band can do Texas music like they live here for sure.

HMR was provided an advance copy of their CD by sweet Heidi Labensart and they kicked off the night with a fave of ours “Eyes for Me”.   Fiddle and harp work dazzled on “Tulsa,OK”, tenderness abounded on “One Night of Pretending”, and “The Lady and the Outlaw” sounded like they live right around the corner and not 2,000 miles away! The outlaw in them rocked on Martelle’s scorching mandolin driven “Dreams Come True (for Awhile)” and they backed that up with two heart tuggers in “Goodbye is More Familiar Than Hello” and “Texas is the Name”.  On the latter I felt goosebumps wash over me when Jay stated that they felt honored to be finally playing that tune IN Texas for the first time!

What we do for HMR is so very cool when hard workin’ dudes like these two are so polite and excited to see anybody enjoying what they love to do.  They could of been hangin’ their heads after tales on the road of A/C going out twice in their vehicle, but instead they were giving their all smiling like kids in a candy store.

The connection we got by chattin’ it up with Andrew before the gig at our table was tremendous.  Felt like we’ve known this down-to-earth cat for a lot longer than a half an hour for sure.  Enthusiasm is contagious and judging how they just came in from a packed house gig in New Orleans at popular Frenchman area club Checkpoint Charlie’s to gigs in Dallas, New Braunsfels and at hot spot The Roost in Austin, the public is catching the same vibe.

The polished crisp delivery and passion these guys put out there is big in the Northeast and here’s hoping it catches on everywhere for them in the future…Ta Ta for now and cya where music IS about town!