+ Support from David Cronenberg’s Wife
The mind-spinning indie-rock/folk/art of Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage developed when songwriter and comic book artist Jeffrey Lewis began recording homemade cassettes in New York City in 1998; his critically acclaimed, unusual and word-dense songs lead to Jeffrey signing to Rough Trade Records in 2001 (record label of The Smiths, The Strokes, Belle & Sebastian, etc.), and the project evolved into a live touring cult sensation around the world. Creating a brilliant style of scuzzy urban indie-rock-folk, like a 21st Century mash-up of Sonic Youth, Pete Seeger and R. Crumb, Jeffrey’s band has played countless gigs all over the world, including playing as the opening act for icons like the Mountain Goats, Daniel Johnston, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Dinosaur Jr, The Fall, Dr. Dog, Pulp, Roky Erickson, The Vaselines, and more.
Their most recent official album is “Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage: Bad Wiring” released on Don Giovanni Records (USA) and Moshi Moshi Records (internationally) in November 2019 (garnering rave reviews), but Jeffrey has also digitally self-released four DIY albums from his apartment since the pandemic started. With or without bandmates Jeffrey continues to wring folksy spiel and garage bohemianism from his ramshackle guitar, while incorporating his often politically subversive visual artwork and cartoons into live appearances. Some of these audio/visual projects have been hosted by the History Channel website, such as “The Story of Sitting Bull,” a Jeffrey Lewis illustrated song which won a Webby Award in 2011 for “Best Writing on the Internet.” Jeffrey’s “The Story of Keith Haring” was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in 2021.
As of 2024 the 4-piece line-up of Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage includes Mallory Feuer on violin and keyboard, Kait Pelkey on bass and Brent Cole on drums.
“Jeffrey Lewis is an amazing musician, and if you don’t know his songs you probably have a hole in your heart that can only be filled by his words… I did!” – Regina Spektor2
Support – DCW
A key band in the late 2000s/early 2010s UK antifolk DIY scene, David Cronenberg’s Wife (‘DCW’ for short) served as a catalyst for other like-minded bands in London to follow suit. DCW played The Fat White Family’s infamous Slide In night in Brixton in late 2013, with the FWF returning the favour several months later by playing the antifolk fest run by DCW songwriter Tom Mayne. DCW’s sound thus stands as a template for many of the current crop of south London guitar bands such as Goat Girl and Shame.
DCW have three BBC 6 Music sessions under their belt (for Marc Riley and Cerys Matthews), and three albums released by Blang, They’ve supportedThe Fall, The Fat White Family, and The Nightingales, their live shows remain one of the London scene’s most vital alternative rock experiences.
Mayne composes the songs and, despite possessing only seven fingers (a congenital deformity humorously represented on the front cover of the Octoberman Sequence EP art), he also plays guitar. With influences ranging from The Birthday Party to Jonathan Richman, DCW’s songs swing between the sweet and the disturbing. Whether playing acoustic twisted lullabies or in-your-face electric hollers the lyrics catch you off guard with their openness, black humour and off-the-wall themes.