Sons Of Town Hall

From the venue:

Sons of Town Hall live at Eddie's Attic!

Imagine if Simon and Garfunkel were lost at sea, salt on their skin, wind in their beards, and whiskey in their bottles. With only the endless sky above, the wine-dark waters below, and one brush with death after another, what songs would they sing whilst stomping on the boards of their boat like melodious madmen?

Welcome to the mythic world of the Sons of Town Hall, the unusual union of George Ulysses Brown, played by Ben Parker–celebrated British singer/songwriter/producer, and Josiah Chester Jones, played by David Berkeley–beloved American singer/songwriter/author. The duo have created a world that transcends time and space, complete with shabby Victorian-era outfits, meditations about the sea and songs that beg you to sing along. Part concert, part theater, part performance art, they leave audiences transformed, hearts full of laughter and tears, drunk on adventure and the tragic beauty of the human condition.

The musicianship is worth the price of admission alone, with jaw-dropping harmonies and brilliantly arranged acoustic guitar parts. But it is the wildly imaginative world Parker and Berkeley have created that sets them in a class by themselves. In this world, George and Josiah have sailed their ship back a century or so, and their song and story cycle follows the pair across the open waters and from town to town as they travel the frontier bouncing primarily from one failed endeavor to another. They fall for temptation and countless false promises. But though the world beats them down, it never breaks them. And their faith in humanity and in each other never flags.

This world (which they are currently developing into a 15-episode podcast), allows them a rare artistic freedom both as writers and as performers. “It is a kind of performance art,” Berkeley explains. “We are, in a sense, characters in a fiction we have created. I have developed dance moves, for example, and a style of guitar playing that I would never even attempt were I not wearing my top hat.” Parker adds, “but maybe the most surprising benefit of the ‘act,’ is that it allows us to be more honest and direct both in our songwriting and in what we say between our songs onstage, about human struggles and emotions. The costumes, in the end, make us more ourselves.”

Sons of Town Hall’s debut album is a masterclass on lyrics and harmony, featuring the single, “The Line Between.” They are hard at work on their sophomore album now, which will be released song-by-song alongside the aforementioned podcast, their most ambitious endeavor yet. The series is hosted by British actor Oliver Maltman and performed in the style of old radio theater, complete with a lush soundtrack and sound effects. Each episode tells a different adventure from their long and colorful history and features a song that will ultimately comprise the next album.