Wilkinson James + Erik Brandt & the Urban Hillbilly Quartet at Aster Cafe

It started back in 2008, when Liz Wilkinson moved to Minneapolis from North Carolina and met up with local singer-songwriter AJ Scheiber. They found out quickly that their voices and musical interests blended and began performing together as Wilkinson James. An early fan described their music as "the bastard offspring of Townes Van Zandt and June Carter Cash."

In 2014 Wilkinson James released a well-received eponymous first record, backed by the cream of the Twin Cities' session players. In the process of promoting the album, the duo evolved into a not-so-little band that included saxophone, fiddle, and pedal steel in addition to Liz and AJ's ever-present harmony singing and lead trade-offs. A second record, Abandon (2016) featured core members of the regular performing band, and extended their repertoire of original tunes into moody jazz, swing, and American Songbook styles.