Bring out the banjo: Them Coulee Boys are headed to Rochester
The Eau Claire-based band Them Coulee Boys will bring a rocking blend of folk, punk, and bluegrass when they take the stage at Allendale Park on Wednesday, June 29.
The free show, which begins at 5:30 p.m., is part of Civic Music’s forWARD Neighborhood Park Concert Series, sponsored by Mayo Clinic & The Current. Clay Fulton & the Lost 40 out of Rochester will be the show opener.
Bandmates Soren Staff and Beau Janke of Them Coulee Boys have been playing together since 2011, when they met as counselors at a summer camp in Chetek, Wis. There, they cut their teeth as entertainers playing for camp-goers when another counselor began teasing them saying “them coulee boys are it again.”
More than a decade later, Staff (lead vocals, guitar) and Janke (banjo) are still playing together with an expanded lineup that includes Staff’s brother, Jens, on mandolin; Neil Krause on bass; and Stas Hable on drums. Together, they deliver a sound that pairs their diverse musical influences with lyrics that are personal and sincere. "We value telling the truth, and being straightforward in what we want to say in our songs, and we are not afraid of tackling some of those issues that are hard to sing about sometimes,” says Staff, the band’s principal songwriter. He adds, “I am just very interested in the way people connect. I like to think the way I put my songs together can move people in a good way, bad way, anywhere."
After spending years refining their musical skills, the band has been on a roll in recent years — and other artists have started to take note. Their most recent album, Namesake, was produced by Brian Joseph, who won a Grammy Award in 2012 for his work with another Eau Claire artist, Bon Iver. Previously, the band worked with Dave Simonett (Trampled by Turtles, Dead Man Winter) on their 2019 album, Die Happy.
The band credits their breakthrough to the chemistry the band shares, both in terms of their musicianship as well as their personal relationships. “Dave [Simonett] one time mentioned, ‘I have never seen a band that loves each other like you guys love each other,’” shares Staff. “It’s the truth. Everybody in the band just has a deep level of care for each other, and I think that really bleeds over to the music we make and the music we perform. There's just that whatever happens we are going to have each other."
This summer, the band is touring across the country, with stops in New England, Nashville, and venues around the Upper Midwest. Staff says their goal is to deliver the same energy they had when they first began playing, while showcasing how their work has evolved over the years. "When we first started out, we were bad. We just weren't the musicians then that we are today,” he tells us. “But we made up for it in exuberance and passion, and involving the audience. Now that we have been a band for a long time, the musicianship has caught up. But the energy that we needed to fight tooth and nail and make this our job is still there."
— If you go —
The show starts at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29 at Allendale Park, 1895 Allendale Park Lane NW.
Admission to all forWARD shows is free and open to the public.
Blankets, lawn chairs, and coolers are welcome.
There will be three food trucks on hand: Jersey Jo's Philly Cheesesteaks and More, The Wandering Scoop, and Taco Lab
For a full summer concert lineup, visit Rochester Civic Music’s website.
