Contest Win tickets to see The Hackensaw Boys or Kings Go Forth

The A.V. Club has tickets for two Double Door shows to give away. On Jan. 21, the funkiest thing to come out of Milwaukee, Kings Go Forth, will be playing with Soul Summit. Jan. 27, the stage will be chock-full of Appalachian swagger with bluegrass badasses The Hackensaw Boys. To win, interested parties should send an e-mail to ochicago@theonion.com and include either “Kings Go Forth” or “The Hackensaw Boys” in the subject line. 

Kings Go Forth, Milwaukee’s 10-piece ’70s soul revivalists, have mastered the art of invigorating a genre that asks, “Are you jivin’ yet?” In 2010, the band released its debut full-length, The Outsiders Are Back, on David Byrne’s worldly psychedelic label, Luaka Bop. Led by classic soul, funk, and R&B-expert—and owner of legendary Lotus Land record shop—Andy Noble, Kings Go Forth has all the tools to pull off their own thrilling and tasteful take on soul music. With good music, funky live performances, and David Byrne on their side, it’s safe to say that Kings Go Forth can expect an enthusiastic response to the burning question, “Can ya dig it?.”


Virginia’s six-piece punk, bluegrass, and classic-country group, The Hackensaw Boys is that band who could get almost anybody on-board with bluegrass. Fortunately, the band favors the rural and traditional elements of bluegrass to the painfully diluted contemporary take on bluegrass, “newgrass.” This has given The Hackensaw Boys a curious twist that has appealed to similarly offbeat indie acts like Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, and Cake. Amazingly, even the band’s maniacally offbeat instrumental take on traditional country can’t prepare listeners for the punk-as-fuck lyrics that accompany it. The Hackensaw Boys make bluegrass and classic country something that’s wild and rowdy enough to transcend a genre from old-school to new-school.