Gringo Star are insouciant explorers, tossing the paddles overboard and drifting on the currents of their lackadaisical curiosity across a rippling sonic ocean, out to the far edges of rock & roll. Shots pulsing from a vintage Leslie speaker, their guitars, keys and vocals create the psychoactive ingredients of their echo-slathered, doo-wop-indebted indie gems; psychedelic garage bangers, gritty R&B shuffles and spaghetti western weirdness. Taking cues from Santo & Johnny, The Stooges, Ritchie Valens, Marc Bolan, Percy Faith, Sam Cooke, the men working on the chain gang—uh! ah!—they’re all here, their electric ghosts reaching across time, tapping Gringo Star on the shoulder like the crossroads devil to Robert Johnson, bestowing secrets, passing torches.
Shantih Shantih is a four-piece band founded in Atlanta, GA in 2013. Shantih’s rock n’ roll blends southern gothic images with Italian landscapes, creating vivid, yet melancholic narratives. The group consists of Italian native Anna Barattin (ex Vermillion Sands) on vocals and rhythm guitar, Julia Furgiuele on drums, Anna Kramer on lead guitar, and Nikki Speake on bass, with the exception of songs led by Julia, in which instruments are switched. The band shared the stage with the Black Lips, Dan Deacon, La Luz, Shannon and the Clams, Crocodiles, Peach Kelly Pop, and Night Beats..