Liam Kazar w/ The Matchsellers

1221 Union Avenue,Kansas City MO 64101

09 March, 2022

Description

Liam Kazar makes joyful rock songs so irresistible they feel timeless. Opening for Liam and backing him up is The Matchsellers Liam Kazar makes joyful rock songs so irresistible they feel timeless. Just ask Jeff Tweedy. “I love everything about Liam. His voice, his songs, the way he plays instruments, his smile, his cooking... Everything,” says Tweedy. ”Whenever I hear one of his songs for the first time I almost immediately start thinking to myself, ‘oh yeah! This song! I love this song.’ It’s a magic trick very few people can pull off: making something brand new sound like a cherished memory.” But on Kazar’s debut album Due North, out August 6 via Mare Records, the LP’s 10 tracks are full of so much charm, wit, and heart it can’t be a sleight of hand. The Kansas City-based, Chicago-raised musician and acclaimed chef/founder of the Armenian pop-up restaurant Isfahan, describes the making of Due North as a personal revelation, where the more he wrote the more his songs showed what kind of artist he’s always wanted to be. While he’s consistently been a dream bandmate over the past several years, performing with artists like Tweedy, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and more, making his own songs presented a chance to finally find his own voice. But figuring out how to step out was a rewarding challenge. “This record kind of all stemmed from a conversation I had with Jeff,” says Kazar. “I showed him some of my earliest songs I was working on and he told me, ‘It sounds like you're writing for the people in your bands, you're not writing for yourself.’ He was completely right. I was not writing songs for myself.” With that needed insight, Kazar decided to start from scratch and write songs that felt like himself. ABOUT THE MATCHSELLERS: The Matchsellers are Andrew Morris and Julie Bates of Kansas City, KS. Their exciting, gritty, and often hilarious stage show has been developed over years of touring across the US and Europe. The two met in 2012 while working as American Cultural Ambassadors in Germany via the Fulbright Program and began exploring traditional American music from abroad. Since then, they have collected influences from various regional styles of American folk music including Bluegrass, Old-Time Fiddle, Hambone, Fiddlesticks, Cajun, Gospel and others. Their work has delved into subjects as academic as “German-American Musical Exchange” and as wild as “Science Fiction Bluegrass”. While a focus on humor and absurdity permeates their show, they are dedicated interpreters of tradition whose excellent musicianship, songwriting and taste are never overshadowed. Whether performing as a duo or with a 4-piece bluegrass outfit, The Matchsellers are true trailblazers of Midwestern Folk and Bluegrass. Classic Cocktail Lounge and Casual Dining in the heart of the West Bottoms