Americana Fest: Acclaimed Quintet Elephant Revival

Amidst the tour of the Northeast and beyond by indie acoustic quintet Elephant Revival behind its sophomore release, BREAK IN THE CLOUDS (June 2011, Ruff Shod/Nettwerk Records), the band heads for Nashville to showcase at the Americana Music Association Conference in October — while buzz for its songwriting, instrumentation, multi-genre style and spirit continues to fly.

Elephant Revival plays its Official AMA Showcase at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 12, at the Loveless Barn, 8400 Hwy. 100. The Music City Roots showcase, hosted by Jim Lauderdale, will also include Grayson Capps, The Wilders, The Milk Carton Kids, Scott Miller & Mic Harrison of the V-roys.

While in Nashville, Elephant Revival will also play an in-store performance at 6 p.m. Thursday, October 13, at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music, 1604 8th Ave. South. Information: 615.254.4801.

Chicago Sun Times says, “The melodic, finely tuned songs are a tribute to the collaborative songwriting talents of each band member”: Bonnie Paine (vocals, washboard, djembe and musical saw), Sage Cook (electric banjo/guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, viola and vocals), Dango Rose (double-bass, mandolin, banjo and vocals), Daniel Rodriguez (acoustic guitar, electric banjo/guitar and vocals) and Bridget Law (fiddle and vocals).

The band plays a variety of folk instruments, from washboard to fiddle, electric banjo, djembe to musical saw, but the band goes further with originals that snap and sparkle with traditional balladry, Scottish/Celtic fiddle, psychedelic old-time, indie rock, rustic Americana, world beat, traditional jazz and an occasionally hip-hop beat.

The tour behind BREAK IN THE CLOUDS, which started in mid-September, with dates in venues from New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to Kentucky, Boston and Indiana, continues with dates in Colorado. The album was recorded in Lyons, Colo., and was produced by David Tiller (Taarka) in his studio, The Distillery.

“We have elements from many different styles of music. The cohesive quality comes from the honor and respect we hold for each other and our fans.” Rose told Relix magazine, which wrote, “The band’s multi-layered musical style comes from the various musical breeding grounds of its players” a particular quality that puts Elephant Revival far ahead of the rest of the crowd. “We create in service to the music,” Rose said. “We do not control what it is or what it will become.”