Mike Killeen + Highbeams
Supported Charity for the month- Decatur Cooperative Ministry
8:00 :: Mike Killeen
Originally from Athens, Georgia and now calling nearby Decatur home, Mike Killeen has released five full-length albums and an EP—and shared the stage with alt-country luminary Jay Farrar, Grammy Award winners The Blind Boys of Alabama, and southern rock legends the Marshall Tucker Band. He counts Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Vic Chesnutt, and Uncle Tupelo among his formative influences.
Killeen’s most recent effort, “Ghost,” was produced by Ken Coomer (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo) at his Cartoon Moon Studios in Nashville and released in 2019 on Saturn 5 Records to worldwide distribution. “Ghost” features Killeen’s strongest set of songs to-date, and his collaboration with Coomer builds on his Americana roots, with a collection of tracks that straddles the lines between genres, including folk rock, pop rock, indie rock, and alternative rock. Killeen penned and contributed lead vocals for all nine songs, and played electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica, and piano. Coomer said of Killeen: “Mike Killeen can take you to that place, the place of a lost love, that yearning we all have for someone, or he can paint the picture of human loss, that deep line that runs between life and death.”
On “Ghost,” expert accompaniment from Joe Garcia on lead guitar, Ted Pecchio on bass, and Coomer on drums—as well the textural presence of keyboards, mellotron, mandocello, loops, and well-placed harmonies by Kristen Englenz and Nathan Beaver—give the album its hard-to-label, but easy-to-embrace vibe. The lead single, “She Called Me Last Night,” kicks off the album and points to Killeen’s active return to writing, performing, and recording new music after a long gestation, with the closing lyric, “If you believe in this thing, and all that it means, it will follow you wherever you will go.” Other highlights include “Siren Call,” “You Ain’t Settling Anymore,” and “Decatur Cemetery (Section 14).”
Killeen is also the founder of Amplify My Community, a non-profit organization that has raised and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to community organizations offering support for the homeless and impoverished. Amplify’s funds are raised through the production of music festivals and concerts—and have featured acts such as Lucinda Williams, Jeff Tweedy, Mavis Staples, The Jayhawks, and Bruce Hornsby. Killeen has donated more than 30 performances to Amplify.
9:00 :: Highbeams
Three brothers with true passion for music; Highbeams play their own brand of emotive, high-energy Folk Rock. Since forming in 2012, Highbeams has released two full length albums and performed all over the Southeast alongside national acts like Vertical Horizon, Chase Bryant, and Col Bruce Hampton. Today the band continues touring behind their latest release, Everything Aside, and making the most of every opportunity to share their dream with the world.
Highbeams are Adam Pendlington, Ian Pendlington, and Stephen Quinn.
