San Francisco
Black Prairie & Ashleigh Flynn
Friday, March 15, 2013 (10:00 PM - 2:00 AM) | 
Bottom Of The Hill 1233 17th Street San Francisco CA
Black Prairie & Ashleigh Flynn
Black Prairie
Black Prairie
Despite their individual musical pedigrees, the seasoned musicians that make up progressive string band Black Prairie aren’t moonlighting. The ensemble is pulled together from different corners of Portland, Oregon’s remarkably rich music scene, and while the high profile of each musician in the band—which includes three-fifths of the Decemberists—ensures a certain amount of attention, it’s clear that Black Prairie are in it for purely musical reasons. They’re playing a brand of Americana that defies easy categorization, cross-pollinating a number of different styles while exposing the venerable, forgotten roots of folk and bluegrass.
It all started when Decemberists guitarist Chris Funk wanted to spend more time playing the square-necked Dobro guitar. While on tour with the Decemberists, he and bassist Nate Query hatched the idea to start a primarily instrumental string band during their time off, but it was a couple more years before the Black Prairie lineup solidified. Fellow Decemberist Jenny Conlee brought along her accordion, and prolific Portland musicians Annalisa Tornfelt (the Woolwines, Bearfoot) and Jon Neufeld (Jackstraw, Dolorean)—on violin and guitar, respectively—also joined the ranks.
The group didn’t come together immediately; it took a while for the busy musicians to assemble in one place, but when they did in the winter of 2007 it was obvious they were moving in the right direction. “At that time I needed a musical shot in the arm,” Funk says, “and I remember driving away from our first practice feeling elated.” The group continued to meet at regular intervals as frequently as their schedules would allow, and during an extended period of downtime from the Decemberists in 2008, Black Prairie’s sound and repertoire really began to gel. Their unamplified, acoustic instrumentation meant that they didn’t need to assemble at grimy practice spaces in industrial sectors of the city, gargling through blown-out PA speakers. Instead, they had the luxury of meeting casually at each other’s Portland homes, leavening their living-room sessions with coffee and treats and conversation.
It all started when Decemberists guitarist Chris Funk wanted to spend more time playing the square-necked Dobro guitar. While on tour with the Decemberists, he and bassist Nate Query hatched the idea to start a primarily instrumental string band during their time off, but it was a couple more years before the Black Prairie lineup solidified. Fellow Decemberist Jenny Conlee brought along her accordion, and prolific Portland musicians Annalisa Tornfelt (the Woolwines, Bearfoot) and Jon Neufeld (Jackstraw, Dolorean)—on violin and guitar, respectively—also joined the ranks.
The group didn’t come together immediately; it took a while for the busy musicians to assemble in one place, but when they did in the winter of 2007 it was obvious they were moving in the right direction. “At that time I needed a musical shot in the arm,” Funk says, “and I remember driving away from our first practice feeling elated.” The group continued to meet at regular intervals as frequently as their schedules would allow, and during an extended period of downtime from the Decemberists in 2008, Black Prairie’s sound and repertoire really began to gel. Their unamplified, acoustic instrumentation meant that they didn’t need to assemble at grimy practice spaces in industrial sectors of the city, gargling through blown-out PA speakers. Instead, they had the luxury of meeting casually at each other’s Portland homes, leavening their living-room sessions with coffee and treats and conversation.
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Friday, March 15, 2013 (10:00 PM - 2:00 AM)
Bottom Of The Hill 1233 17th Street, San FranciscoCA
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