Out of the cornfield eden at the northern tip of Lake Winnebago come Dusk, a unique country rock ’n’ roll group that blends their rural roots and love for 60s and 70s soul. Formed in 2015, the band has been a favorite of midwest and east coast stages, sharing bills and tours with the likes of Sheer Mag, Screaming Females, and Reigning Sound.
The outfit is five strong, each a song-er, sing-er, and multi-instrumentalist in their own right. Julia Blair’s tender howl floats atop the crowd of voices, fingers mincing the keys of the Wurlitzer piano. Ryley Crowe works the pedal steel guitar, gracefully gliding across the band like a horse on ice. Tyler Ditter grips his electric guitar as a knight his sword, falling any vine or villain in his path. Behind the kit is Amos Pitsch, whose hands like hammers pluck a powerful bellow from each drum. Ridley Tankersley is there too with a bass guitar, scrounging up the loose change from the green room couch.
Their newest LP “Glass Pastures,” the group’s first since 2017’s full-length debut “Dusk”, is not only a museum of earworms, but a crusade for love and truth. Recorded and mixed between 2020-2022 in the various rooms of the band’s home studio, Crutch of Memory, a mid-century castle in the heart of Appleton, Wisconsin, the album showcases a range of writing and vocal talents, featuring songs from each member. Therein is Dusk’s force– its spirit; the breadth of voice unified and concentrated like a beam of light on a ruby velvet curtain.