Madison King and Old 97s at Brooklyn Bowl 8/6/14

Madison King and Old 97s

Brooklyn Bowl

August 6, 2014

Formed back in 1993 in Dallas, TX by lead vocalist and primary songwriter Rhett Miller, Old 97s are considered by countless journalists, critics, industry folks and others as pioneers of the alt country scene of the mid to late 1990s, which also included bands like Uncle Tupelo, Drive-by-Truckers, Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks and The Bottle Rockets. And after the release of Wreck Your Life, Elektra Records signed the Texan quartet with the hopes that alt-country would be the post-grunge period thing; however, sadly, alt-country didn’t catch on in the way that the label expected. Despite the critical acclaim, the band’s album sales didn’t add up in a way that Elektra Records saw as feasible and the band was eventually dropped. If you know anything about the music industry, you know that this is a fairly common phenomenon for both indie level bands and renowned artists.

Interestingly, the Dallas, TX-based quartet have become a beloved cult-status band with an extremely devoted fanbase, which will provide most bands some level of fiscal sustainability in the iTunes age. And in fact, the band played two Brooklyn Bowl shows in support of their latest effort, Most Messed Up with a fellow Dallas, TX-based singer/songwriter, the absolutely charming Madison King, who not only opened for Old 97s but she also has a duet with Rhett Miller on her sophomore effort, Onward and Upward. (One of the many highlights of the night was a cover of Gary Stewart’s “Your Place or Mine” that brought back vivid memories of honky tonks in small Texan towns for a dear friend, who grew up in Texas.)

Check out photos from the proceedings below.

Rhett Miller introducing the lovely Madison King before her set. Considering all the shows I’ve seen in the four year history of this site, that was honestly a first.

Madison King