In December of 2015 Dawes played The Beacon as part of the Holiday Cheer for WFUV show which included Brandi Carlile, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, and Lucius.  While on stage, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes remarked it would be cool to come back and headline the theatre on their own.  On Friday, March 10th Taylor and the rest of the fellas got that wish and clearly were relishing the opportunity.   Dawes is led by the Goldsmith brothers – Taylor on vocals/guitar and Grffin on drums along with Wylie Gelber on bass, and new guy Lee Pardini on keys who took over from Tay Strathairn last fall.  They stretched out and populated the generous setlist with selections from all five of their albums over two sets.  Specifically…

One of Us
From a Window Seat
If I Wanted Someone
Picture Of A Man
Now That It’s Too Late, Maria
Right on Time
Roll with the Punches
A Little Bit of Everything
Somewhere Along the Way
When My Time Comes
Less Than Five Miles Away
Second Set:
My Way Back Home
Roll Tide
Hey Lover (Blake Mills cover)
Coming Back to a Man
Quitter
Time Spent in Los Angeles 
Most People
Million Dollar Bill (Middle Brother song)
Someone Will
When the Tequila Runs Out
Things Happen
From the Right Angle
We’re All Gonna Die
Encore:
All Your Favorite Bands

Dawes is touring behind their latest album, We’re All Gonna Die, which includes vocal cameos by My Morning Jacketâ€s Jim James and the Alabama Shakes†Brittany Howard as well as Mandy Moore and Lucius†Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe.  Jim Keltner and Will Oldham also make appearances.  On the songwriting front, Taylor Goldsmith teamed up with a man he’s known since junior high school and former Dawes member Blake Mills to co-write a half dozen of the album’s ten tracks.  Another old pal Jason Boesel, former member of Rilo Kiley, co-wrote two with Taylor and another one with Mills who also produced the record.   

Dawes will be back for another ‘evening with’ show on June 14th at the new Williamsburg venue Brooklyn Steel!

On Monday, March 7, 2011 – I caught a tasty double bill at the Rockwood Music Hall with Middle Brother & Lissie. Middle Brother, whose debut self titled album came out earlier this month, served up a rootsy, spirited set rooted in but not chained to a folk aesthetic. As their name suggests, Middle Brother is not the top priority of the musicians who comprise it. The three principles in MB have ‘day jobs’ already fronting Deer Tick, Dawes, and Delta Spirit but like a married man with a hall pass they played with a sense of freedom and abandon that was compelling and entertaining. All talented singers; they hit some striking pockets of harmony…

You’ve heard of outfielders who have ‘guns’ for arms? Lissie has a gun of a voice; Powerful pipes in that young woman!

Her bass man Lewis Tilley played drums with his feet (snare as well as bass drum) and her guitarist Eric Sullivan turned in a wicked lead on In Sleep off her debut album Catching a Tiger.