With a sound self-described as a mix of Neil Young and Tom Petty, The Junebugs from Portland, Oregon took the stage at John’s Alley Tavern last Friday.
The Junebugs are a trio of Barrett the guitarist, Nathanial Daniel the bassist and drummer Kyle Owen.
Getting on the stage at John’s Alley has been an endeavor for them due to the busy schedules of the band and the Alley, Barret said.
“A bunch of Portland bands play here. Yeah, this is the place to be, to come through… Eventually we found a date that worked and we’re super stoked to be here,” Barrett said.
The Jan. 31 show was their first performance in Moscow. Barrett said Moscow was highly recommended to them.
The band played a mix of covers and original songs. The covers range from Modest Mouse to Foster The People.
“I mean, I feel like a lot of musicians say this but it’s like I didn’t pick my sound, my sound picked me. I grew up playing around the campfire with my family,” Barrett said.
The band slowly got together over the years through Barret finding them one by one.
“We kind of meet through the scene, I had lived elsewhere, besides Portland for a while and I was coming back home, and some friends told me to look up Kyle Owens because he was a real good drummer and I was looking to put a band together,” Barrett said.
Next Barrett said they found Daniel, who became their bassists.
“I gotta say having Nathanial and Kyle who are very talented and much more into kinds of like funk and jazz, and that stuff has really changed the sound in a really cool way,” Barrett said.
The Junebugs will be back at John’s Alley on May 29.
The next bands to play at John’s Alley are The Maple Bars on Friday night and The Bedspins on Saturday night.
Kali Nelson can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @kalinelson6.