Doors 7pm. | Show 8pm.

About Zo!

Multi-Instrumentalist/Producer Zo! is Detroit-area born and raised, Lorenzo Ferguson.

Music was always present in and around the Ferguson house, which led to Zo! taking piano lessons at age 6… which he absolutely despised. The idea of working toward a Major League Baseball career served as the greatest inspiration through his teenage years much more so than the concept of practicing music. After his parents consistently pushed and encouraged him to stick with music, Zo! discovered a newfound passion by teaching himself how to play piano by ear by age 11. Zo! got his production start in 1992 when his parents brought home a Proteus MPS keyboard and a Brother PDC100 sequencer for him to figure out. Since then, he has emphasized the use of live instrumentation as the blueprint for his music while constantly looking to expand his sound with each album release.

About The Hot at Nights

Says one Carolina newbie to one Carolina native, “Dang! I knew it would be hot in the Summer down here, but I had no idea that it would get even hotter at night!!” Meteorologically speaking, there is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. But as far as the Raleigh-based exploratory jazz trio called The Hot at Nights, there is no explanation for them. 8-string guitar virtuoso Chris Boerner leads the group, with Matt Douglas on sax/woodwinds and Nick Baglio on drums. The group melted together in Boerner’s studio over the many sweltering evenings of Summer, 2010. Though largely improvisational, the group’s compositions pull from contemporary songwriters, classic funk, pop, rock, and of course the electric avant garde stylings that have spanned the last 30 years of contemporary jazz. Complex rhythms can quickly transform into head-bobbing groove fare. Simple melodies coaxed by all three players can explode into cacophonous meteor showers at the drop of a dime. Their limits go as high as the stratosphere and deep into the Earth’s mantle. Both of which keep them sweating… even after the sun goes down.

Doors 8pm. | Show 9pm.

The opening song in Hiatus Kaiyote’s Tawk Tomahawk captures you instantly. Guitarist and lead singer Nai Palm’s vocals are raw and sincere—weaving in and out of a beautiful blend of strings and snares. The debut EP is bold, yet intimate. Close your eyes after pressing play and you will be transported from your seat to the desert sands of Australia where the video for “Nakamarra” was filmed.

The Melbourne quartet is an internationally acclaimed “future soul” band. In little under two years, highly-respected artists, audiophiles and everyday people have been waxing poetic about Hiatus Kaiyote. The music is diverse and it expands into a sound that can’t fit within the boundaries of a single genre. Each track is like a key ingredient in the listening experience that adds to a fusion of jazz, hip-hop, electronic, opera, rock and soul. Subtle traces of the group’s major influences, ranging from Stevie Wonder and J Dilla to Flying Lotus are imbedded in the project.

Hiatus Kaiyote formed organically through a series of jam sessions that took place in a house three members shared. The Tawk Tomahawk recording process was inspired by everything from watching relationships unravel to traveling the world. There’s a freewheeling spirit to the band, comprised of Nai Palm, keyboardist Simon Mavin, bassist/producer Paul Bender and drummer/producer Perrin Moss. Prior to joining forces, the bandmates were working the local music circuit and refining their respective talents.

When Tawk Tomahawk was released in spring 2012, the EP quickly climbed the indie charts. It was as if a word-of-mouth shock wave moved from Melbourne, to Gilles Peterson in London, to Questlove and Erykah Badu in New York City and beyond. Hiatus Kaiyote began performing with artists like Taylor McFerrin (Brainfeeder) and José James (Blue Note) and are now headlining sold-out shows.

But this is only the beginning, as Hiatus Kaiyote embarks upon its U.S. debut tour.

“Music has always been medication to us,” Nai Palm explains. “It’s a force for self-healing that we’re ready to share with the world.” Through a musical symbiosis, the band has created its own lane and Tawk Tomahawk showcases the breadth of their talent and love for music lyric by lyric, and beat by beat.

Venue Information:
The Pour House Music Hall
224 S. Blount
Raleigh, NC, 27601
http://www.the-pour-house.com/