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The Cactus Blossoms Residency 2022
The Cactus Blossoms Residency 2022First Avenue

The Cactus Blossoms Residency with Jake La Botz

Monday, January 17
6:30 pm

Turf Club

1601 University Ave W, Saint Paul, MN 55104

Effective immediately, all concerts and events at First Avenue and associated venues will require either proof of a full series of COVID-19 vaccination, or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken in the prior 72 hours. More info HERE.

Doors open at 6:30PM | Show starts at 7:30PM | 21+ | $20 Advance | $25 Day of Show

More information

Blood Harmony. Whether it’s The Beach Boys, Bee Gees or First Aid Kit, that sibling vocal blend is the secret sauce in some of the most spine-tingling moments in popular music. The Cactus Blossoms – Minneapolis-based brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey – offer compelling evidence that this tradition is alive and well, with a deceptively unadorned musical approach that offers “creative turns of phrase, gorgeous harmonies, and an ageless sound” (NPR All Things Considered), not to mention spine tingles aplenty.

Their 2016 debut You’re Dreaming, a stunning and transporting collection of original songs, earned high praise from Rolling Stone and Vice Noisey, tour stints with Kacey Musgraves and Lucius, and a perfectly cast performance on the third season of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. Now their unlikely rise continues with new album Easy Way, to be released on their own label Walkie Talkie Records.

While many bands would have been content to stick with the winning formula of their debut, the Blossoms refused to repeat themselves. If You’re Dreaming celebrated their vintage country and rock influences, Easy Way reveals a songwriting style that has changed, evolved, and gotten more modern. Dan Auerbach, another artist who knows from bedrock influences, co-wrote two songs on the album. “Dan’s love for songwriting was inspiring, just the kick in the pants we needed to start writing again after being on the road,” says Page.

The brothers’ decision to produce the new album themselves no doubt led to the new sound. “We wanted the freedom to experiment with our own weird ideas,” says Jack, “We used to joke that the working title album should be Expensive Demos.” As they crisscrossed the nation on tour, the brothers would stop through Alex Hall’s Reliable Recorders studio in Chicago to chase the new sound they were after. The result joins together what would otherwise be distant corners of the American songbook. Both the traditional twang of Chicago pedal steel guitarist Joel Paterson (Devil in a Woodpile, The Western Elstons) and the primal wail of free jazz saxophonist Michael Lewis (Bon Iver, Andrew Bird) are at home on the album. Just as they did with their debut, the brothers found a voice all their own.


Singer/songwriter Jake La Botz plays roots-drenched music that reflects his time performing in streets, bars, churches, and even tattoo parlors. You can also hear the various places La Botz has lived in his music — including his time in New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, and his native Chicago where, as a young man, he found kinship with some of the last of the pre-war era bluesmen: David “Honeyboy” Edwards, “Homesick” James, and “Maxwell Street” Jimmy Davis.

In 2017 and 2019 Jake released his studio albums Sunnyside and They’re Coming for Me on Hi-Style Records to critical acclaim. Produced by Jimmy Sutton, both albums won Independent Music Awards. Jake has toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe and has shared the stage with Ray Charles, Etta James, Dr. John, Mavis Staples, JD McPherson, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Tony Joe White, Low Cut Connie, and a host of other greats.