Taylor Ashton with R.O Shapiro and Emma Roseat The Velvet Elk Lounge
Fri Sep 13, 8:00 PM - Fri Sep 13, 11:00 PM
in 6 days

Recorded over the course of a 4,000-mile cross-country roadtrip, Taylor Ashton’s gorgeous new album, Stranger To The Feeling, is a sonic odyssey through the heart of America, one that works its way chronologically and geographically from coast to coast as it meditates on the meaning of closeness and connection. The performances are warm and inviting, anchored by Ashton’s deft guitar and banjo work and rich, easygoing melodicism, and the recordings—helmed by producer Jacob Blumberg and captured with a broad range of collaborators including Courtney Hartman, Big Thief’s Buck Meek, Lake Street Dive’s Rachael Price, Vulfpeck’s Theo Katzman, Late Show bandleader Louis Cato, and Mipso’s Jacob Sharp—are alternately sparse and lush, with arrangements often serving as aural reflections of their physical environments. From a blanket in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park to a spiritual vortex in Sedona, AZ, the settings are inextricable from the songs, and the result is a moving collection that manages to evoke both the gentle virtuosity of Nick Drake and the buoyant wit of Paul Simon. Born and raised in Canada, Ashton got his start fronting the beloved Vancouver five-piece Fish & Bird. After moving to NYC, he teamed up with Courtney Hartman for 2018’s Been On Your Side, which Rolling Stone proclaimed “packs a punch,” and two years later released his solo debut, The Romantic, earning widespread praise alongside dates with the likes of Sarah Jarosz, Madison Cunningham, The Wood Brothers, and more.

R.O. Shapiro and Emma Rose have a friendship forged in the infamous Austin music scene, and the heady midnight song-circles of the Kerrville Folk Fest. Since then, Emma moved back to her native Colorado, where she became one of the founding members of Big Richard, before moving on to grow her solo project Sound of Honey, and collaborate with artists like Lindsay Lou and Taylor Ashton. Her music has been described as "indie-pop, in the vein of artists like Feist or even Big Thief — silky, heart-on-your-sleeve folk music with an underground creativity." R.O. is now based in Northern California, and regularly tours the Pacific Northwest and his home state of New York. He's a winner of the 2022 Kerrville New Folk songwriting contest, has recently toured with May Erlewine and opened for Jackie Greene, and will soon release a two-song 45 he recorded with producer/instrumentalist Phil Cook (Bon Iver, Hiss Golden Messenger.) These two artists-on-the-rise are coming together for a limited run in Colorado this fall, and you can expect a set full of honeyed harmonies, heartfelt lyrics, and immaculate vibes.

Bar opens at 5 PM and happy hour from open to 8 PM. (21+) The Velvet Elk Lounge does not allow minors - No Exceptions.

Tickets are available here: bit.ly/VELtickets