Pullin’ ‘Tubes: You Gotta Have Heart

Once in a while we get some good perks for running HT. Last Monday, I was invited out to see Erika Wennerstrom – the force behind the Heartless Bastards – for a private showcase at New York City’s Mercury Lounge. The diminutive and slightly nervous Wennerstrom stepped up to the bare stage with an acoustic guitar in hand and delivered a half-hour set that featured a handful of songs off her band’s upcoming album The Mountain, along with some older cuts and a B-side thrown in for good measure.

As a solo act, Wennerstrom and her powerfully booming voice gave her material a more of a folk-blues sound, but when she plugs in and is backed back a rhythm section (which has rotated from album to album) the sounds shifts to more of a raw blues-rock. Check out the video for All This Time…

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The Heartless Bastards hit the road at the end of the month for a mix of headlining and support dates with the Black Keys, Andrew Bird and The Gaslight Anthem. The Mountain will be available in stores on February 3.