David Wax Museum is the joyful, eclectic collaboration of David Wax and Suz Slezak, whose music the New York Times describes as “a lively and rustic cross-border mix: lonesome Appalachian harmonies over mariachi horn lines and rhythms you might hear at a rural dance in Veracruz or San Luis Potosí.” The duo has just released their fourth studio album, Guesthouse, which NPR calls “wonderfully charming.” The title song, David says, “draws loosely on two Mexican folk songs from the son jarocho tradition – ‘El Buscapies' and 'La Iguana' — and is about coming to terms with our peripatetic lifestyle and constantly being a guest." The song begins with the line “I have a simple request / I hope it’s not an imposition,” and goes on to ask: “Will you let me stay in your guesthouse?” Seems a couch just won’t do anymore.

David grew up in Missouri, became interested in Mexican folk music while a student at Harvard, and met Suz in Boston, where they were both part of the folk scene. In 2010, they made a big splash at the Newport Folk Festival, which led to a tour with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the release of Everything Is Saved in 2011 and Knock Knock Get Up in 2012. Their music keeps evolving. “We've found that our hearts feel most shaken, and the band fires on all cylinders, when we're putting on a rock show,” David says. “What we've tried to retain about our folk origins is the warm sound of people playing acoustic instruments together in a room.” Now this exciting band is coming to the Freight!

Marty O’Reilly of Santa Cruz has a way with trance-based blues, harkening back to John Lee Hooker and Howlin’ Wolf, with a minor-key swing that brings to mind some of Tom Waits’s darker work. He sings and plays an electrified Resonator guitar, and has toured internationally with his band, Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra, winning praise from NPR, the SF Weekly, and the website 4000MilesToNashville. Expect music that’s haunting, thought-provoking, and original. 

visit the David Wax Museum website

visit the Marty O'Reilly website