The comparison of The Cactus Blossoms to The Everly Brothers may be a little too easy. Brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum certainly share the blood harmony, and their songs often have a timeless quality that would play in any decade. The Minneapolis-based moves easily between folk, indie rock, and almost country and western–a good fit under the huge Americana umbrella. While listeners try to draw comparisons, though, The Cactus Blossoms are riding on the success of their third full-length album One Day, released in February on Walkie Talkie Records.
The musicianship of the band contributes much of the energy of their live performance. With Jack and Page on guitar, sharing lead vocals and harmony, they are supported by Phillip Hicks on bass and another set of brothers, Jake Hanson on electric guitar and Jeremy Hansen on drums.
On April 3, the band appeared in Nashville for the first time in three years at 3rd and Lindsley as part of WRLT Lightning 100s Nashville Sunday Night series. They opened with the title song from the new album and played “Hey Baby,” their road trip song whose music video has taken off since its release. They wove in newer singles, such as “Runaway” and “Lonely Heart,” with songs from their earlier recordings. They performed several tracks from their 2019 release Easy Way–“Desperado,” “I’m Calling You,” “Please Don’t Call Me Crazy,” and more–saving the title track for the encore after the radio sign-off. They also reached back to You’re Dreaming from 2016 for “Stop Light Kisses,” “Adios Maria,” and “Mississippi,” which was picked up for the revival season of Twin Peaks.
Even an occasional pop and rattle from a bit of loose sauter in Torrey’s guitar forcing him to roll it “like a bb through a maze game” didn’t slow down the music. While many in the audience may have been new to The Cactus Blossoms,they had a evident fan base who had eagerly awaited the band’s return to Music City.
Opening for The Cactus Blossoms, singer-songwriter Alexa Rose, based in Asheville, NC, performed songs from her recent album release Headwaters. “Haywood,” a song named for the Asheville street where she watched a street musician playing for pure pleasure, was a reminder, especially after the recent pandemic, “to get lost in the things I love to do again.” She also shared a song inspired by the story of her great grandfather from western Virginia, one of the few musicians in her ancestry, who lived awhile with Lester Flatt but chose not to go to Nashville with him to pursue that dream.