Tosa Tonight Welcomes Nashville's Roanoke

If the Holy Trinity of Cajun and Creole cooking is onion, celery, and bell pepper, the triumvirate of acoustic guitar, mandolin, and harmonized vocals must be Americana music’s version of divinity. Throw in a pinch of fiddle, a pluck of banjo, a dash of stand-up bass, and steady percussion on, well, just about any ol’ thing, and you’ve got yerself a kettle of some tasty Americana folk music.

Ah, but the secret ingredient any great chef will tell you is… love. No, not love. The real secret ingredient is talent! (Though that probably does come from love, I suppose.)

A band that expertly blends all those savory ingredients into a flavorful booyah is Nashville’s own Roanoke.

After fans of Tosa Tonight were generously hosed out of a great show by Miles Nielsen and the Rusted Hearts because of torrential rain, I am thrilled that the forecast for the second show of the 2019 series looks sunny and warm.

It will be a perfect evening to welcome Roanoke to the Rotary Performance Pavilion.

I recommend a blanket, a picnic basket, bare feet, overalls, a straw hat, and a brown jug of your favorite spirit (filled with product, of course, purchased from one of the series' generous sponsors) for the most authentic Roanoke experience. I would add a corn cob pipe to the list, but smoking is not
allowed in the park.

Roanoke’s sparkling self-titled debut album came out in 2016. Since then, the band has toured abundantly and further honed their craft. I have yet to see them live, but everyone who does exclaims that Roanoke puts on a great show. So this is definitely one to anticipate.

If you've got Spotify,  the entire album is available for download and streaming. One track that instantly captivated me from this album is 'Without You'. In no way does it sound like U2's With Or Without You, but I would be hard-pressed to believe U2's song did not inspire Roanoke's tune. It starts slowly with a repeating rhythm, and finishes with a flurry -- drum fills rumbling and tumbling like and metal rubbish can falling down the stairs. Fingers crossed that they perform this one live. You might see some air-drumming out of me if they do.

'The Light' and 'Jordan' are Roanoke's runaway hits on Spotify, garnering 564,000 and 543,000 spins, respectively.

The Light


Jordan (recorded May 2019)


Tennessee Stone (2018 Single)


Keep wishing for the promised sun and warmth for Wednesday evening. I'll see ya there. Yeehaw!!