The Federales with Special Guests Pleasure Horse & Hemma at the Granada Theater

Fiddle + guitars + sweet harmonies + a fun dive bar vibe — it all adds up to The Federales, a Minneapolis-based collaboration between six longtime friends and players. Since 2012, fans in the Twin Cities and beyond have lined up for this band’s infectious take on old-school country music.

It began some years back, when guitarist James Gould (The 4onthefloor) and songwriter Ben Miller started running into each other at parties and found that the talk inevitably turned to Townes Van Zandt, Gram Parsons or the Flying Burrito Brothers. They sought out like-minded musician friends (including a few high school pals and one-time Federales superfan Jay Scabich who took up the fiddle shortly after the band formed) and in 2012 formed The Federales. The band captures the warm sonic textures of the ‘60s and ‘70s recordings they’re drawn to. Think a boisterous Bakersfield dance hall or a music-basted Austin barbecue circa 1975.

While their debut album Blues, Bourbon & Burritos took a straight-ahead approach to Midwestern country sounds and songwriting, their new release Honkytonks & Hangovers leans woozily across a wider swath of American styles — rooted in the present but never jilting the past. Come to any of their shows and just try not to tap your feet. Try harder not to dance. A good time? That’s a given.

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Pleasure Horse is not the best country band in Minneapolis. They don’t need to be. While incorporating classic country influences, the band's DNA remains rooted in folk, indie and rock & roll. With pastoral narratives of travel and heartache, each song tells a recognizable story. Somewhere betwixt Petty and Twitty, Pleasure Horse will have you dancing, crying and then dancing again until bar close.

Record collector Dave Hoenack writes, “Pleasure Horse offers just a little of just about everything you’ve ever loved about country music: beer-soaked heartbreak and twang, a little Tex-Mex and a little rock and roll.”

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Hemma comes from a family of singers, carving her own path for the last decade as a troubadour in the country and folk tradition. She made waves in the twin cities as a backing vocalist for Wendy Lewis and a featured guest at the Cactus Blossoms 2020 Turf Club Residency. Sometimes with a full band, many times a soloist, Hemma captivates the audience as she paints with a pastoral brush passed down from artists like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. The band is back in the studio this winter in her native Eau Claire for a follow-up EP to her 2020 Tomorrow River.