Grammy Award nominees The Milk Carton Kids and Sierra Hull performed to a buzzing Englert Theatre crowd on Thursday night, co-headlining a show that would please most any folk music fan.
The Milk Carton Kids opened up with a stripped down, folksy acoustic set that had incredible harmonies and intricate guitar and banjo work. The duo, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, are based in Los Angeles and are coming out with their seventh album, Lost Cause Lover Fool, on April 24.
MCK’s music may not be something you want to get up and dance to, but it’s what you want to lean in to listen to. Their lyrics and musicianship are remarkable. One song off their new album, “A Friend Like You,” showcases their strengths: lyrics, harmonies, instrumentation. The refrain, “A friend like you could be the end of me,” carries weight throughout the tune, which covers the hardships of leaving someone you love when all you want to do is stay.
Pattengale and Ryan knew how to make the audience laugh, and the banter between songs felt like a lighthearted conversation between old friends at a familiar haunt — which makes sense, as this was not their first time in Iowa City. The duo have performed in Iowa more than 10 times, mostly at the Englert.
Their interactions with the audience were sarcastic and awkward in the best way possible. At one point, Ryan, in a straight face and monotone voice, said they were “pulling out all the stops” as he whipped out his banjo. (Check out this clip from their performance at Codfish Hollow for an example of their pitch-perfect banter.)
Co-headliner Sierra Hull came out with a high energy, fast-paced bluegrass set. Hull is also a Grammy nominee and a seven-time International Bluegrass Music Association Mandolin Player of the Year.
“[Bluegrass] is not only just the music I grew up listening to and playing, but the people that I was around, too, and the people that experienced the music, the things that those stories are all built upon, the sounds of bluegrass really just sound like the part of the world that I come from,” Hull said in an interview with KRUI before the performance.
Hull was born and raised in the small community of Byrdstown, Tennessee. She has been playing the mandolin since she was 8 years old.
Hull’s band consisted of her mandolin, a guitar, a bass, a fiddle and a drum kit. This combo made for an electric second half of the night. Her music, which reminded me of a high-energy twangy jazz band, was intricate while staying fun to listen to.
While the Milk Carton Kids were peaceful and dreamy, prompting you to ponder things you haven’t thought about in a while, Sierra Hull burst in and made you forget all about that. The co-headliners paired together were a perfect contrast for a night showcasing the full breadth of what current folk music can achieve.
