Sioux City Kid

Sioux City Kid is a California-bred singer/songwriter. Being attracted to classic blues and country from an early age, he started becoming obsessed with struggle and song. By his early 20’s, he was living in a van, driving around the country, soaking up all that he encountered.

It wasn’t until a few years later, he found himself in San Francisco where he had formed a band and was playing out constantly, gaining notoriety for their whiskey-fueled shows and anthemic melodies like Little Hell and Wishin’ Well. He now finds himself at another crossroads, performing and traveling as usual, finding the balance between song and struggle. (via ReverbNation)

 

MarsBands Review

Mercy sakes alive! I found a doozy this time! Imagine if Ryan O’Reilly grew a beard, went less Folky and more Bluesy, and smoked a carton of cigarrettes a day for about a year. You know what he’d sound like? Sioux City Kid. As you may or may not remember, Ryan O’Reilly topped MarsBands’ Top 10 Songs of the Year last year because of his intensity, passion, and all-out fire he performs with for every single song. Sioux City Kid is no different. Actually, here’s an even better comparison - The Blue Valentines with a quicker beat.

You will hear, see, and feel every ounce of emotion and passion from every song Jared Griffin sings. Sings isn’t the right word - performs. Each song isn’t “just” a song. It isn’t “just” music. This is performance art at its finest, people! This is music that is absolute, sheer brilliance on levels most people have never even been aware of. This is music that gets me all fired up! Just like Ryan O’Reilly, Dead Sara, Well Hung Heart and so many other great bands and artists we’ve featured here on MarsBands, this is the kind of music I love to brag about. If you can find this kind of passion on mainstream radio, I’ll kiss your ass.

I quickly fell in love with the song Darlin’ Darlin‘. It has a nice quick pace, a simple yet effective drum beat, and harmonica! Love a song with harmonica. You just don’t hear enough of it anymore. The Folky/Blues sound you get from Sioux City Kid is wonderful, but I found myself marveling at the vocals.

After you’ve listened to the songs below courtesy of our friends over at ReverbNation, be sure to check out Sioux City Kid’s videos on YouTube. The live performances are what will bring you to a point of ecstasy. At least that’s how it worked for me. I was immensely impressed with the recorded songs, but you know you’ve found something special when they can make you enjoy their live stuff more. If this is your first time hearing Sioux City Kid, after you’ve calmed down from your excitement a bit, be sure to share the music with as many people as you can. Enjoy!