Harlan Pepper - Hillside Friday 2011

Like the down-to-earth Hamiltonians that they are, Harlan Pepper introduced themselves as guys who like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the summertime. The young lads, having all just turned nineteen recently, play a relatively mature brand of folk-infused indie. That lead singer has sure got some grown-up vocals, as displayed on Reefer, and alongside his bandmates on the 'never, never, never' chorus of No.  He's also got a face to match Dylan's - as they pointed out before launching into a cover of one of his tunes. (This happened both during their workshop with The Midway State and their solo set a couple hours later.) Rounding out the folk feel in addition to the standard acoustic and electric guitars were the harmonica and banjo. On Little Miss Sunshine the drummer sang back-up but to my disappointment I didn't get to hear them tour The Great Lakes. I feel we'll be seeing more of them in the future so I'll save that one for next time.