Featuring performances from Patti DeMay, DGS, The Johnny Sincerely Orchestra, and Freaque with accompanying music video premieres from local director Alyssa Stormes.  Come to support the bands you know and stay to find a new favorite. Alyssa Stormes is a fiscal year 2024 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

 

Freaque explores the underbelly of corporeal experience. Songs and stories about decay, decomposition and death being juxtaposed with eroticism, relationship and life. Through a dark, dank, and dirty artistic voice, Freaque tells stories of life blooming in the shadows and those lives taking shape in a myriad of bodies. 

 

The Johnny Sincerely Orchestra incorporates elements of vaudevillian theatricality into their live shows, creating what they call “Carnival RocknRoll”. Combining elements of European folk and music hall with hard hitting rock n roll and the blues, they have created a sound all their own. This ragtag crew of orchestral misfits can be found playing their hearts out at a dim lit bar near you.

“Johnny Sincerely has elements of a vaudeville showman who seems as though he would fit right in as a carnival barker, an old parisian cabaret host, or as a swaggering lounge singer.”

 

The Johnny Sincerely Orchestra are:

Piano/Vocals: Johnny Sincerely

Guitar: Sean Cosgrove

Bass: Joe Clark

Viola: Linnea Brashears

Trombone: John Baumgartner

Percussion: Aaron Isakson

 

DGS (pronouns: they/them/theirs) has studied and performed the violin with many artists in multiple genres, though their heart has always been drawn to creating something for themselves.

Performing on a five stringed instrument, DGS has both violin and viola at their fingertips, and the addition of live effects expands their sound palette even further. With a tap on the body of the instrument, the violin transforms into a kick drum. A synth pedal shifts the octaves down into bass territory. Pizzicato in their hands is performed more like a guitar or mandolin, and ambient reverbs create synth textures uniquely voiced by the instrument’s timbre. All of these sounds are created and recorded live into a looper to transform this one person into a string quartet, a live band, and many shades and combinations in between. 

 

They invoke similarities to artists like Lindsey Stirling, Nils Frahm, and Hans Zimmer; The reflective and pensive ability of instrumental and classical music combined with the pulse and staying power of a Top 40 hit is a combination that inspires them most. Instrumental riffs lay the foundation while dense symphonic strings collide with dance-worthy beats. Melodies soar over top with earworm-worthy hooks while the sub octave bass roots and grounds the bottom end. 

DGS has a way of speaking through their music that captivates any and all who stop to listen. 

 

Hi! My name is Patti DeMay. I’m a lyricist and singer. Music to me is like an emotional immune system for my mental health. There are moments in my life that are so overwhelming, I’m compelled to turn those experiences into songs in order to make sense of myself. My astrological signs are as follows: Cancer Sun, Taurus Moon, Scorpio Ascendant.

 

Shout-out to Tom and Adolfo who have worked with me since 2020 to create my first solo album. They are incredible musicians, composers and auditory engineers who helped me to turn my acapella musings into tasty tunes.

 

Alyssa Stormes is a filmmaker and visual artist based in Minneapolis. Described as an artist for artists, she loves making visuals for musicians, arts organizations, events, and personal celebrations. This past year she’s worked with the Science Museum of MN, Muslim American Society of MN, the Minnesota Zoo, Star, the Mall of America, Nintendo, and Moonplay Cinema. She is a 2024 grant receipient of a Creative Individuals Grant from the MN State Arts Board, a current panelist for the Gig Fund by Arts Midwest, and has had 3 designs commissioned for public art projects through the Bus Stop Beautifiation Program through Metro Transit in 2023 and 2024. She holds a degree in Cinema from the University of Iowa, and has an extensive background in both music and theatre. She’s recently directed music videos for Julia Brennan, Patti DeMay, The Johnny Sincerely Orchestra, DGS, and Freaque.