Augustana Lifts The Crowd With Their Melancholy Sound

Written by Carmen Garza

Augustana

If you're ever in the mood to see a multi-talented, melodic indie rock band just emerging onto the global music scene, check out Augustana in concert. These gifted folk style musicians hailing from San Diego, California surprised even the most seasoned concertgoers at The Marquee Theatre on Saturday, June 18, 2011 in Tempe, Arizona with their masterfully powerful yet romantic tunes coupled with thought provoking lyrics. The band is currently touring with headliners and Arizona’s own, The Maine.

While Augustana performed the hit song, "Steal Your Heart" from their current self-titled cd one could hear a noticeable similarity to a very early Bruce Springsteen or even current day Brandon Flowers. The band also performed their present day ballads “Counting Stars”, "Someone's Baby Now" and "Just Stay Here Tonight" which made the women in the audience swoon. The band presented the brooding hit songs, "Fire" and “Sweet And Low” from their Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt cd as well as one of their most critically acclaimed hit songs that put Augustana on the map, “Boston” from their debut smash cd All The Stars And Boulevards.

Meet the band. For those of you already in the know, there’s no reason for the following introduction. However, for those who are not as familiar with Augustana, the most recent bandmates and their respective roles within the group are:

Dan Layus (vocals, guitar, piano)
Jared Palomar (bass guitar, vocals, keyboard)
Justin South (drums, percussion)
Chris Sachtleben (guitar, mandolin, vocals)
David Lamoureux (keyboard, vocals)

Their songs, if you listen carefully, are bite size masterpieces that only the gifted ear can detect. This is one of the reasons why Augustana will be around for many years to come and will continue to grow into our hearts and minds forever. For more information on Augustana and to sample an array of their selected music, go to www.augustanamusic.com.