Normally, Madison’s own Harmonious Wail would be on the road touring year-round, bringing their swinging jazz with smoldering vocals and infectious energy to listeners across the country and around the world. As we all know, 2020 was far from normal.
Due to the pandemic forcing clubs, bars and venues everywhere to shut down from March 16 onwards, like every other band, “the Wail” was forced to pivot and change their strategies for rehearsals, recordings and performances, which sadly meant cancelling their entire planned global live tour schedule.
Instead of giving up, band members Sims, Maggie and Jeffo had an inspiration; they immediately moved all shows to their backyard in Madison. Thus the weekly “Quarantini Under the Oak” virtual concert series was born, and continued throughout the year whether there was rain, snow or sunshine, the band playing at times beside a roaring fire or sheltered on a porch.
On Friday, March 26 at 7 pm Harmonious Wail commemorated one year of weekly performances with a special Quarantini Under the Oak anniversary concert. You can check out that video right here.
The set list is the same as on March 27, 2020:
Says the band: “It’s been a crazy adventure-filled year, from shows on freezing nights when the fingers of band members got so cold outside they could barely play, and the creative shift to the semi-insulated back porch when winter temperatures outside really took a dive. Then there were the connectivity and WiFi problems while broadcasting those first backyard shows just using a smartphone. We switched to running it through a laptop connected to the internet via several hundred feet of Ethernet cable strung all throughout the house and way out into the yard so the shows could go on. It being a Wisconsin winter, there were nights when the band had to come out early and shovel some snow just to make an area where they could set up and play. Despite these challenges, it has been a marvelous experience!”
These stalwarts even recorded and released another brand new album during the pandemic. “Beyond The Pale” came out in August 2020 and it’s a great mix of the various songs they’ve been playing in the backyard. Also bringing much joy to Wail musicians, neighbors started to come to their backyard fence and listen to the live music from a safe socially-distanced area while clapping and cheering their encouragement. At the same time, fans starved for live music continue to watch and listen to the online shows every week and make donations in appreciation, just like live shows in normal years.
Congratulations to our local gypsy swing heroes on their One Year Quarantini Anniversary! Harmonious Wail will continue doing these live concerts for the foreseeable future every Friday evening from 7-8 pm CT. All shows are livestreamed on the band’s facebook page as well as the WORT-FM facebook site.
To learn more about Harmonious Wail and their weekly Quarantini concerts, visit the Wail Website: https://harmoniouswail.com/
