On Saturday Slush Fund Recordings and New West Records hosted a showcase at Little Kings featuring a variety of local and regional bands. All of the performing bands were either signed to Slush Fund Recordings or had some connection to the label’s co-owner, David Prasse. Besides providing good music, Prasse and company also provided free beer, an industry-old method for getting people into the venue and encouraging them to stay. On this day, the trick was slightly superfluous, as literally all of the bands this reviewer witnessed were top notch. 

The first band to perform was a group from Atlanta called the Judies, who inked a deal with Slush Fund literally hours before performing. Faced with the task of opening the show at 1 p.m., the Judies rose to the challenge, performing an interesting blend of piano pop and rock. Some of the group’s songs recalled—interestingly—Spacehog (not a band you usually see bantered about in reviews of contemporary bands), as well as David Bowie. The Empties were next to take the stage. The Empties were more rock than the Judies, and their sound recalled various Minneapolis bands from the early '90s, with a little Urge Overkill thrown in for good measure. Dropsonic played next. With blistering guitar solos and loud (very loud) instruments, Dropsonic played balls-out rock and roll in the vein of Led Zeppelin. Dropsonic has been around for awhile, but their shows are always fun to watch. 

After Dropsonic, Athens’ own Leralynn (also of Bird+Wire) performed a quite set on the electric guitar. Leralynn has an amazing voice and her songs were very accomplished. Though the task of performing after Dropsonic was a daunting one (i.e., going from loud to quiet), Leralynn pulled it off beautifully. After Leralynn came a band from Birmingham, Alabama called Act of Congress, which is a silly name until you realize the band performs bluegrass music, at which point it somehow makes more sense. Act of Congress played several original songs as well as some interesting covers, including “High and Dry” by Radiohead and “Such Great Heights” by the Postal Service. Act of Congress are amazing, young musicians performing excellent bluegrass music that is not boring at all. The band exudes charisma and—perhaps surprisingly—it seemed like the group was a sleeper favorite of the day.

The last band I witnessed at Little Kings was Ponderosa, a Southern rock band in the truest (and best) sense of the word. The band looked like a Southern rock band, the various members looking like a cross between Dickey Betts and Leon Russell. And, musically, the band is a cross between those same individuals as well. The band’s singer sounded fantastic and the band was just loose enough to cause the songs to really soar. Perhaps it was the copious amount of free beer the audience had consumed, or the band’s prowess or both, but when Ponderosa played, the joint was packed out and everyone was dancing to the music.

Unfortunately I had to leave before Trances Arc took the stage, but this showcase was still the most fun event I attended during AthFest.

John Seay