In a continuation of their summer concert series at Aloft Hotel franchises, Paste Magazine has announced three more hotel bar shows in North Carolina, including one at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22, featuring Durham’s Hiss Golden Messenger. In a brief announcement posted to Facebook, band leader Mike Taylor treated the news with an appropriate dose of snark: “You can come to this Paste Magazine session in Chapel Hill by RSVP’ing at the link. Good chance to see what an Aloft Hotel is all about, I guess!”
Next to other recent dubious experiments in mixing music and marketing in local venues (Here’s lookin’ at you, Rolling Rock!), Paste’s Aloft sessions seem almost subtle. Videos of past shows show a spate of low-key performances against an unchanging backdrop of contemporary hotel design.
Time will tell how the sight and sound of Hiss Golden Messenger’s Taylor — hunched over his guitar, strumming and singing a quiet, transfixing set — will play in the upscale hotel, but curious parties can RSVP for the free gig here. The link also includes options for subsequent shows in Charlotte (band TBA) and Asheville (with Brooklyn pop act People Get Ready).
In any case, we’re optimistic: Hiss Golden Messenger shows rarely disappoint in any setting. Plus, the band is closing out a strong year that featured a stellar collaboration with guitarist Steve Gunn and the much-praised full-length Haw. And the activity shows no signs of slowing: In January, Hiss Golden Messenger’s sparse and out-of-print acoustic collection Bad Debt will be treated to a wide release courtesy of Paradise of Bachelors.
Hiss Golden Messenger will also headline Haw River Ballroom with a full band on Saturday, Oct. 26. That show includes Phil Cook & The Guitarheels and The A’s, a new act featuring Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso, Mountain Man) and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig (Mountain Man). Tickets for that show are $8–$12.
