04/07/11

Story by Peggy Graham

Light Up the Lawn

‘Cowboy Indian Bear’ headlines first ‘Light up the Lawn’ Concert

Photo left to right: Beau Bruns, Martinez Hillard, Katlyn Conroy, CJ Calhoun

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Cowboy Indian Bear headlines this summer’s first free Light up the Lawn concert at 8 p.m. Friday, May 6, on the front lawn of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College. Sam Billen is the opening act.

The Lawrence-based Cowboy Indian Bear is composed of members CJ Calhoun, Beau Bruns, Martinez Hillard and Katlyn Conroy, who joined the group in 2010. With featherweight melodies, ghost-like echoes and whirring rhythms, they create an ethereal celebration that is tempered with a tinge of classic rock/pop. Band members began working on material in April 2008. With each member drawing from a variety of influences the resulting sound is, at once, a singular statement with timeless appeal. In February 2009, they released a self-titled, three-song EP to critical acclaim and a strong grassroots response from all over the Midwest. Their refreshing take has allowed them to open for such artists as Peter Bjorn and John, The Appleseed Cast, Murder by Death and The Republic Tigers. After signing to Kansas City-label The Record Machine in early 2010, the band released a 7-inch split with It’s True!, a quintet from Omaha, Neb. The trio just released its full-length debut album Each Other All The Time.After years of playing in a band called the Billions, Sam Billen has journeyed off into a solo music career and is currently releasing his music through The Record Machine. Over the past couple of years, he has released a good amount of music: a digital EP entitled Tokyo Sessions, a full-length album called Headphones and Cellphones, a Christmas solo piano album called Death of a Saint, and a constantly growing collection of his remixes and covers of the music that influences him in a project called Removers.

This is the second year for the free Light up the Lawn series, sponsored by the Performing Arts Series at JCCC and the Nerman Museum. The Campus Activities Board is also a co-sponsor for the May and August concerts, planned to celebrate the end and beginning of semesters, respectively.

This year’s summer line-up is:

• May 6 Cowboy Indian Bear, headliner, and Sam Billen, opening act
• June 10 Soft Reeds, headliner, and The Latenight Callers, opening act
• July 8 Hearts of Darkness

• Aug. 26 Antennas Up