Last Wednesday evening DC’s 9:30 Club played host to a night of indie-rock from two acts that will demand more attention for years to come, Hiss Golden Messenger and Lilly Hiatt.
His Golden Messenger is the led by MC Taylor, a Southern California native who transplanted to the Durham, North Carolina music scene in 2007. After various successful lineups, Taylor made subtle personnel changes over the years to explore different capacities for the band’s sound with rock remaining at its core.
The band boasts eleven studio albums to date along with multiple EPs, various singles, and live releases. In 2014 Taylor signed with Durham’s Merge Records and joined the ranks of artists such as Arcade Fire, Robert Pollard, and Washington, DC’s own Ex Hex among others. Hiss Golden Messenger’s latest LP, Terms of Surrender was released in 2019 and is available in black vinyl and limited edition Coke bottle vinyl which includes a two color newsprint posters within.
The evening’s opener Lilly Hiatt has a lot to give. The Nashville based musician’s songwriting is both excellent and extremely sharp-witted. Her style can be deemed Americana, but certainly includes elements of straight rock, folk, and blues which suits her very well indeed. She’s a 2018 nominee for the Emerging Artist Award from the Americana Music Association and I have a suspicion that you’ll be seeing a lot of her in years to come—if you haven’t already. Her upcoming album, Walking Proof is due in stores in March.
For this stop at the 9:30 club, Hiatt kept things simple with just her voice and an acoustic guitar. Despite a slew of great songs and road stories, my favorite moment of her set came in the form of a Tom Petty’s “Walls” which was just mesmerizing.
HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER
LILLY HIATT
