Pride Kickoff Concert 2023

The Cavves

https://thecavvesband.com/services/ Wichita’s The Cavves are the foremost purveyors of landlocked surf music. Formed in 2016, the quartet—Sophie Emerson (guitar, vocals), Matt Bennett (guitars), Jackson Relph (drums), Cale Gubitz (bass)—set about establishing itself as a rare creature, an act whose songwriting and recordings are as potent as its live shows. With two albums under its belt (2017’s Learn To Swim and 2019’s Venture Out), the group is set to release its third, titled Settle Down in a Guest Room later in 2022. The body of work thus far reveals a band wise beyond its years with tales of frustration with religious institutions, depression, grief and friendship leading listeners through an aural landscape rife with musical passages that are both playful and far-reaching, with an appeal that reaches from the hookiest moments of Courtney Barnett to the most soul-searing of Sleeper Agent. Clocking over 70 gigs in its first year as group, the band quickly became a favorite act within Wichita’s undeniably fruitful music scene, sharing the stage with together PANGEA, The Black Pumas, and Slothrust while keeping up an impressive touring schedule since the start. Emerson, who met the others while attending Catholic school, notes that writing was, from the start, the key to the band’s appeal. “You can be entertaining on stage but we wanted to give people something to come back for,” she says. “For me, that was always songs. All of my favorite bands were the ones that you’d see, get blown away, and then come home, listen to the record and be blown away all over again.” As for the lyrical content, she notes, “I think it’s important to have something to say. We didn’t want to have a bunch of songs that were about nonsense. You can still have a good time while listening to us but if you hear something we wrote and it makes you think or you identify with it on a personal level, then we’re really doing what we’re supposed to.” As for the quartet’s formidable live shows? Bennett offers this: “Any show might the first time someone’s seeing us. We want to give them something to come back for there too. Being on the stage with three of my friends is uplifting for me, why shouldn’t it be for the audience?”

Keo & Them

https://keoandthem.com/portfolio/ The enigmatic nature of Wichita, Kansas’ Keo & Them doesn’t end with the band’s name, it runs deep into the soul of everything the group does. Formed in 2018 by Keo, the collective features a revolving cast of players who, one way or another leave an indelible mark. “It’s one of the contradictions of the band,” says Keo, “I’m the constant but everybody who comes through adds something, some dimension that gives me room to explore different areas with my songs. That movement is a true gift.” Some might say that the music is almost never the same way twice—except for one critical quality: Keo remains dedicated to quality performances and memorable songs. “I’ve had trumpet players in the band and when they leave, we add a backup singer and then they add something that sounds like a trumpet line or,” Keo adds, “sometimes a guitar player will pick up on a vocal line from a song and make it into something new. So, if you’re a fan of our music, you’ll probably always find something new in there no matter how many shows you come to, no matter how many times you hear a song.” The Texas native’s musical style eludes easy categorization. Like the popular music of the 1960s and 1970s, the sound is a confluence of disparate elements that somehow never sound incongruous. “I grew up listening to the radio,” Keo says, “it was always on in the house, the car, whatever, so whatever I heard, I could always find something I liked and, when I started writing songs, I figured, ‘Why not put all the things I love into one place?’” There are, quite simply, some acts that thrive in the live arena and Keo & Them remains one. The singer notes, “I like recording and I want to do more of it but there’s something about being on the stage that really keeps the music alive. It’s like you can’t tame it or something and each time it reveals more about itself.” That live setting has led the Wichita outfit to open for a diverse array of artists including: Tank and the Bangas, Mr. Sipp, Gov’t Mule & Big Boi from Outkast. As for the future of the band, Keo remains dedicated to bringing the music to a wider audience. “We want to go out and meet more people, play for different audiences and see where the music takes us.”

No Boys

Junior Retreat

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Remains to Be Seen

Bryan Seely