The Black and White Years Come to Town, This Friday

In a day when most label-bound music is starting to sound eerily similar, it’s rather refreshing to uncover a band like The Black and White Years. The critically-acclaimed, Austin-based quartet mixes seemingly familiar tunes with smart lyrics and hip, wacky vocals to culminate in a sound that’s set them apart from their peers and that won them five Austin Music Awards in 2009, including Best New Band, Best Song for their single, “Power to Change,” Best Performing Band – Rock, and Best Bass Player (John Aldridge), along with a nod to their producer, Jerry Harrison (of the Talking Heads & Modern Lovers fame), who won the award for Best Producer of the Year for his work on their debut LP.

The Black and White Years were discovered in 2007 at Austin City Limits by Harrison, who offered to produce their debut self-titled album in 2008 (a self-produced album, Real! In Color!, was released in 2006). Since then, BAWY have graced the stages of CMJ Music Festival, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Austin City Limits Music Festival, MIDEM, and the Wireless Festival. Needless to say, the band is taking the Austin music scene by storm, and all their fans along with them. Working on LP number three, which is due to be released in the summer of 2012, the BAWY have taken a break from the studio to deliver themselves to their adoring public via a series of shows splattered across the Northeast and Southwest, one of which will be landing firmly in our beloved Fitzgerald’s this Friday, September 9th.

Have a listen to a tune or two of theirs in preparation for their free show this weekend, and make sure to pencil it in to your scheduled festivities. It’s not something you’ll want to have missed:

The Black and White Years – “Up!”
The Black and White Years – “Perfect”
The Black and White Years – “Cold”

The Black and White Years is:
Scott Butler: Guitar, Piano, Vocals
Landon Thompson: Lead Guitar, Whack FX
John Aldridge: Bass, Brass
Billy Potts: Drums

BWY TOUR DATES:
Fri, 8/19 – Austin, TX – Lambert’s
Fri, 8/26 – Denton, TX – Hailey’s
Sat, 8/27 – Austin, TX – Batfest
Fri, 9/02 – Norman, OK – Opolis
Sat, 9/03 – Lawrence, KS – Replay Lounge
Fri, 9/09 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
Sun, 9/11 – Austin, TX – Wild Frontier Fest
Fri, 9/16 – Austin, TX – Swan Dive (unofficial ACL aftershow)
Sat, 10/15 – Utopia, TX – Utopia Festival
Fri, 10/28 – Laredo, TX – Old No2