Minor Moon / Otis Shanty

Minor Moon's Sam Cantor writes resonant journeys into songs. The Chicago-based musician and sideman in Half Gringa has mined the pastoral and rollicking sounds of cosmic country for contemplative and thrilling songwriting. The core musicians who backed him on 2019's An Opening return: drummer Nathan Bojko, bassist Michael Downing, and keyboardist Colin Drozdoff, with the addition of lap steel guitarist Konstantine Stebliy. Here the band is more locked-in than ever, conjuring up engaging Neil Young grooves, eye-opening atmospherics, and a healthy amount of Midwestern twang. 

His newest project, Tethers, came out of a period of upheaval for Cantor, at time when he had to confront uncomfortable personal realities. This process led Cantor to construct a psychedelic and knotty sci-fi world in his lyrics, in order to write about what he was going through with more freedom and imagination. "Minor Moon songs have always had this arc of discovery, and I've always used them as a way to dive into really personal, philosophical, or emotional problems," says Cantor. "It's about finding some truth looking inward." 

Otis Shanty formed at Hamilton College in January of 2019. Comprised of guitar players Ryan DiLello and Jono Quinn, keyboardist Sadye Bobbette, bassist Julian Snyder, and drummer Brian Lynch, the band churns out alternative funk-infused songs with rock and jam band influences. The band breaks genre conventions with their unique sound and live improvised jams.