Always worthwhile to seek out new music in live spaces [Unscripted column]

It’s important every so often to be reminded that if you don’t skip the gig, you might find some new music to enjoy that you might not have found otherwise.

On the morning of Thursday, September 12, I awoke to an Instagram message from my pal Brett Keller, head audio engineer at Tellus360 and Keller Pro Audio. It was straightforward – “Great show in the speakeasy tonight” with a link to a song called “Faraway Skies” by a guy named Dean Johnson.

Maybe it was the fact that I faintly remembered Johnson’s name from him opening the Harrisburg Riverfront Park Jenny Lewis show back in June, and that I had skipped going to that one despite my love for Lewis. It could have been that it was Keller, a guy whose music taste I respect highly, sending the recommendation. Whatever it was, I decided before I had even left my bed that morning that I would go, without even listening to the accompanying link Keller had sent.

I’ve been trying recently to reverse a trend that I would like to head off at the pass, to borrow some Western movie parlance. Plainly put, I’m in my 30s now and don’t want to lose the spark of not only experiencing live music, but experiencing music from new or new-to-me musicians.

I’ve been privileged to write about music off and on for the better part of a decade, dating back to the waning days of Fly After 5 magazine, when I’d blur business and pleasure going to two or three shows in the area some weeks. To keep yourself open to new music in a live space can be fraught, of course – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood in a packed crowd watching a terrible band or been one of two or three experiencing something incredible. These are the risks, and I figured I’d take one more on that brisk fall night.

It only took a few notes to know I had made the right choice.

Johnson’s debut album, “Nothing For Me, Please,” was released in 2023. The 51-year-old songwriter had been writing and performing intermittently in his native Seattle for years before finally gathering up two decades’ worth of songs into a tidy package. That night at Tellus360, Johnson performed all of the album’s songs, many of which featuring Harrisburg native Rebecca Marie Miller on harmony vocals. Each one knocked me back in different ways, whether it was the honest pain portrayed in songs like “Acting School” and “Possession” or the clever humor of the title track, written from the perspective of a longtime resident of Heaven, pondering if they’ve had enough of paradise.

And then there is “Faraway Skies.”The album opener is a country waltz that recontextualizes the familiar hallmarks of a cowboy song – his “lightnin’ lassoo,” his trusty horse Blue, his six-shooter, too – and makes it about a person who spends their time living mostly in the“range of my mind.” There’s a combination of sadness and resilience to the song that makes it haunting. Johnson’s voice, a powerful instrument that calls to mind Ray LaMontagne, sells the level of emotion the song requires. It’s the kind of song that sounds like it has existed forever and could fit in just about any era of music.

To see “Faraway Skies” and a half-dozen other songs that would quickly became favorites in my life played to a two-thirds full An Sibin speakeasy space was an incredible experience. It was the kind that made me wonder how many similarly transcendent gigs I’ve missed out on because, oh, it’s a weeknight, or oh, it’s been a long day, or, oh, I don’t feel like spending that tonight. I thanked Keller immensely for the head’s up on my way out. Sure, it’s possible he sent that “Great show in the speakeasy” text to 100 people, hoping that a dozen may show up like I did. What matters though, is that he did, and I have a “new” artist to enjoy for the rest of my days.

Obviously, it’s fun to have artists that you know you love, and to enter into a concert knowing that you’re going to sing every note and enjoy every minute. But in the same way that the improvisational nature of a jazz tune can be loved just as much as a basic four-on-the-floor pop song, it’s important to leave space for the mystery and surprise of new music in a live space. There’s a band playing near you tonight that you’ve never heard before, and this is your sign to go see them.