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Silas Short(Stones Throw Records)
Sat, May 24 8:00 pm (Doors: 7:30 pm )
$19.00 Buy Tickets
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Artists

Silas Short

Silas Short has lived many lives. His debut album LUSHLAND is a passionate record of processing change as he journeys through highs, lows, and powerful self-acceptance. To craft LUSHLAND’s rich sound, Short drew inspiration from Soulquarians-era R&B, Erykah Badu’s falsetto storytelling on Mama’s Gun, and D’Angelo’s butter-smooth singing and instrumentation on Voodoo. While vintage R&B and funk are key influences, they’re not the only ones; Silas cites artists like Bob Marley and The Smiths as inspirations. (Cementing the reggae connection, Short recently recorded a cover of The Uniques’ “My Conversation,” featured in Jesse Eisenberg’s 2024 award-winning film A Real Pain.)
Growing up in Milwaukee, Silas played guitar in a gospel band, jammed with his father and brother at home, and practiced the saxophone while working in the booth of the Thanks-A-Lot parking lot. At 19, he moved to Chicago, where he sneaked in guitar practice during slow shifts at Music Go Round. In the Windy City, Short worked at a BDSM-themed haunted house before joining a group of fellow musicians who travelled the country on a school bus, playing from town to town atop its yellow roof.

Though Chicago life had been a whirlwind, Silas moved across the country with a firm sense of purpose: he would immerse himself in LA’s thriving music scene and the community around his new label, Stones Throw. “When my world changed before the move, I desperately needed that sense of confidence back,” Silas says. “The culture shock of LA alone was enough to inspire a record, but ultimately being here I really felt like I had something to prove.”

In Los Angeles, he ad-libbed vocals in the studio until he found the words and sounds that captured the concepts in his head. Collaborators helped execute his vision. Silas’ longtime inspiration, the neo-soul legend James Poyser of The Roots and Soulquarians (Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Ms. Lauryn Hill) plays piano on “ILIKEU”; Luke Titus lays down drums on three tracks, and Peanut Butter Wolf scratches on “WOLF’S BLESSING”, which includes a Charizma sample. LUSHLAND was co-produced by Ryan James Carr (Usher, Cordae) and mixed by six-time Grammy Award-winner Cole M.G.N.

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