Jayplayers at Bourbon and Branch

On Thursday night at Bourbon and Branch, in the middle of the heatwave, a few people sought the refuge of AC to see Matthew Rineer, The Rose Project, Qiet, and  Hershey’s own, The Jayplayers.

Around 8PM, Matthew Rineer began to play with his acoustic guitar. Next to him, Calli Graver joined him for the set, adding back up vocals. Together, the two created beautiful harmonies. Rineer played songs like “Survive” and “Wasted Time”, which he added that he hoped wasn’t a waste of the crowd’s time. That caused the crowd to chuckle and get comfortable. He then covered Gregory Alan Isakov’s “The Moon Song” before closing his set with “Kiss Me Baby”.

Almost directly after, The Rose Project joined the small stage. Normally a full band from Kennett Square, PA, but due to a member’s recent loss in his family, they became a duo for the night. They opened with “The Sound” and “Dark Street”, followed by “The Truth Is”- a song that was in response to all the bad things happening lately. It promoted love and not violence, “like some people with a microphone on TV.”

Up next was Qiet, a band traveling from West Virginia. The full six-piece band added a different feel than the two acoustic sets the came before them. Christopher Vincent on lead vocal/guitar, Alasha Al-Qudwah on violin, Max Venoy playing trumpet, Robert Staggers Shank on trombone and accordion, James Maddox on bass, and Steve Barker playing drums. With a rock/funk/jazz mix, the band quieted  the crowd and even had some people dancing with their upbeat songs like “Cosby Sweater” and “Pretty, Perfect”.

Last up- headliners The Jayplayers. The four part band included Michael Broda on bass, Tyler Kollinok on drums, Keeley McCue on vocals and tambourine, and Chris Weidensaul on vocals, guitar, and a little bit of the harmonica. The Americana/rock band recently released their debut album, Glitter & Wine, after adding Michael and Tyler into the band. Opening up with “Save Me”, the crowd was immediately in awe at Keeley’s strong vocals. During “Drifter’s Blues”, there was a technical issue with Chris’s microphone, yet that didn’t stop him from singing. Once the mic was fixed, the crowded cheered once you got to hear his voice. Next they played what they said is one of their favorite songs off the new album, “Tug of War”, that had the audience swaying back and forth.

Even though they just released a new album, Keeley informed the crowd that they were already working on another album. With that, they played a new song they were working on called “Come Back to Me”. Chris then asked if anyone liked Johnny Cash, which got a few “woohoos” from the crowd. Jokingly, he said they were going to now cover a Britney Spears song (I’d enjoy seeing that), but played “Folsom Prison Blues” by Mr. Cash.

Then the band continued on with their last few songs from Glitter & Wine. While they played “Run to Me”, I couldn’t shake the comparison of Keeley’s voice to Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries, who is personally one of my favorite artists. After that, The Jayplayers slowed it down with “Calendar Days”, before closing the night with “Ghost” and thanking everyone for coming out on a Thursday night.

Although they venue wasn’t packed, everyone who came to support the musicians enjoyed themselves. All the bands put their hearts into playing, which made the night even better.