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by Alli Marshall
Pontiak, Golden Void and Nate Hall Bands with siblings are definitely a thing, though bands of all siblings are few and far between — The Jackson 5, The 5 Browns and Hanson. It’s safe to say that, short of being a trio of brothers (Lain, Van and Jennings Carney), psychedelic outfit Pontiak, from Virginia, shares little with those other sib groups. What they are sharing is an East Coast tour with label mates/West Coast rockers Golden Void (pictured). Though the members of that collective have played together since high school, they hit their stride in this project. New album Rise to the Out of Reach “explores the dichotomy of destruction and devotion,” says label Thrill Jockey. The three groups/musicians perform at Blackout Effectors on Sunday, Sept. 1. Nate Hall from WNC/Tennessee-based U.S. Christmas joins the lineup. 10 p.m., $7. blackouteffectors.com.
Letters To Abigail Flat Rock-based Americana trio Letters to Abigail (James Harrell, Kelli “Mae” Redmond and Lauren Bandy) raised $15,000 through Kickstarter to record their debut LP, Say Anything, at Echo Mountain Studios. They brought in guests like Steep Canyon Rangers’ fiddler Nicky Sanders and Jimmy Buffett’s pedal steel player Doyle Grisham for the record, which the band describes as “a new and refreshing approach to a sweet familiar sound.” (Speaking of sweet, check out their video for “Angel in Ordinary Shoes.”) Letters to Abigail performs Friday, Aug. 30, at Highland Brewery. That night celebrates the band’s album release (6-8 p.m.) as well as the brewery’s seasonal release of Clawhammer Oktoberfest (beginning at 4 p.m.). Free. highlandbrewing.com.
Hamlet Montford Park Players closes out its summer season with a blockbuster of a production: A story of “treachery, revenge, incest, moral corruption, duty and madness,” as the theater troupe’s website puts it. That dark thriller, aka Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is the bard’s longest play and, even today, is among his most performed. It tells of the revenge that the prince of Denmark took on his uncle, Claudius, who murdered the king. That monarch, by the way, was Claudius’ brother and Prince Hamlet’s father. Things spiral downward from there. “Though this be madness, yet there is method in it,” one character, Polonius, says. The plays runs Fridays through Sundays, through Saturday, Sept. 14. 7:30 p.m. nightly at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre. Free, donations accepted. montfordparkplayers.org.
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Larry and His Flask at Grey Eagle Folk, punk, gypsy-jazz, soul and brass sounds all find a place in the sonic gumbo that is Redmond, Ore.-based Larry and His Flask. Worth noting: There is no Larry to be found among the five members (brothers Jeshua and Jamin Marshall with Ian Cook, Andrew Carew and Dallin Bulkley). There is, likely, a flask or two. “Their love of oldschool country, folk, hip-hop … and everything in between comes shining through,” says the band’s bio. “They trade off instruments mid song as they dance back and forth across the stage in a punk rock ballet of sorts, narrowly avoiding collisions constantly.” Larry and His Flask take the stage at The Grey Eagle on Thursday, Aug. 29. 9 p.m., $8 in advance/$10 day of show. thegreyeagle.com. Photo by Karen Seifert