Listening Room at The Loren Ft. Cash Iron Shoes and Dan Hochman

This is one of a series of listening room concerts graciously hosted by The Loren Hotel on the last Friday of every month. Join us for an evening of original music by local artists in the intimate setting of the Cafe at The Loren.

The Loren Hotel is providing free valet parking. Food and drink will be for sale. Please note capacity is limited. RSVP is encouraged but does not guarantee entry. We recommend arriving early to secure a seat.

Cast Iron Shoes is a fiddle-driven rock n' roll band from Austin, Texas. The group's original music draws on Classic Rock, Swing, Folk, Blues, and Appalachian influences.

They are a must-see live act; showcasing an energized retro sound, fantastic musicianship and danceable original Americana songs. Their high energy live performances feature a wide range of instrumentation, from two-stepping acoustic ballads to plugged-in southern rock anthems.

Fronted by singer/songwriter/fiddle player Nicole Ridgwell, the band wins the crowds hearts by bringing Nicole's joy and energy and passion for folk music.

Nicole is a talented musician with great songs and a happy aura. Raised in the west and currently based in Texas hill country, she was brought up on her mom’s folk and her dad’s blues. She started touring across the country as a child, traveling abroad with various bands playing violin, singing, and writing songs on her acoustic guitar. She has released several records with numerous bands over the past two decades whilst extensively touring, supporting acts such as Emmylou Harris, The Brothers Comatose, and Lost Dog Street Band.

When the pandemic hit she left her career playing fiddle and singing harmonies in California and began to travel the country singing troubadour style from South Carolina to Switzerland, perfecting her broad repertoire of original songs. She is recording a new album of original music with her band Cast Iron Shoes, due to be released in late 2023.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/castironshoes/

Website: https://castironshoes.com/

There’s a numinous yearning to Dan Hochman’s music. He asks questions about what it means to be human and what it takes to heal. But like his favorite mystic poets, he finds questions more compelling than answers. Hochman has birthed three albums: Hearts Alive, his homespun debut; Midday Muse, his somber sophomore album; and Shadow Blues, a heartbreak record penned while travelling through Central America. Ear Milk Magazine praised his “bittersweet melodies and soulful vocals,” saying “Hochman effortlessly fuses elements of blues, folk, and soul.” He’s toured across the east coast and through the mountains of Colorado at venues like Planet Bluegrass (Lyons), Belly Up (Aspen), Fox Theater (Boulder) and the Bitter End (New York).

When Hochman walked into Hiss Golden Messenger’s rural studio, he could feel the collective energy of all the artists who’d ever recorded there. The studio’s celadon green walls, parquet floors and cosmic patterned carpets were quirky, lived-in and inspiring. The fruits of these sessions will be released as a triptych of new singles produced by M.C. Taylor and featuring drummer Matt McCaughan of Bon Iver, among others. The gritty guitars and soulful vocal performances lend these songs an atmosphere of rumination and oceanic depth. 

“Wishing on a Clover,” Hochman’s new single, is a buoyant Americana song about trying to keep your mind off an ex-lover while secretly full of longing and regret. The lyrics are earthy and relatable. He sings about being “down and out in the cul-de-sac / searching for the table scraps.” Similarly on brand, “Leave a Light On” is a raucous number about finding hope in the warm glow of a new lover while still healing the scar tissue of a broken heart. “Reformed Man” is a half-fictional chronicle told from the point of view of a delusional, newly divorced musician sobered up by his own faults and pining for the one who got away. It’s in the voice of an unreliable and out-of-touch narrator slowly coming to terms with his own shortcomings. 

Hochman grew up in a vibrant and chaotic hippie household in New York. He was encouraged to be his wild and quirky self, drawing on a mustache with eyeliner before school and writing spoken word poetry in his journal. Music became a refuge, a safe harbour in an unpredictable childhood. He started writing songs early and still picks up his guitar every day to see what might pour out. Sometimes in mid-conversation or halfway across a train platform, he’ll stop to jot down a nascent lyric in his trusty notebook. Like any wise horticulturist, he knows not to squander a good seed. After spells in New York, Costa Rica and Colorado, Hochman is now living in Austin, taking a respite from his vagabond ways.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danhochmanmusic/

Website: https://www.danhochman.com/

Also check out other Music events in Austin, Entertainment events in Austin, Arts events in Austin.