The Thing With Feathers Take over The Sigler House in Nashville, TN

Written By: Teddie McCord & Delaney Hamilton | 05/23/2023

Photography By @veda.elizabeth.photography

On Saturday, April 22nd, The Thing With Feathers performed the long-anticipated rescheduled show date at the Sigler House, located in Nashville, TN near Music Row, along with the two openers: Soft Serve and Homes at Night. The Thing With Feathers consists of members Dave Welcsh - lead singer, Alex Hendricks - lead guitarist, and Chris Roussell - drummer, with the company of Kyle Briskin on bass. The band has recently been gaining more traction and attracting more monthly listeners. The Sigler House is a house that has recently been renovated to be used as a live music venue. We highly recommend checking this venue out for any frequent concert-goers. The Sigler House provided a very intimate setting for the show, as the performances took place in the basement of the venue. An estimated 100-150 people were in attendance for this show. From the beginning, the show felt like a very intimate and exclusive experience.

The first band to perform was Soft Serve, a Nashville-based indie rock band. Frontman Sean McHugh and drummer Aaron Krak are the two members who make up Soft Serve. However, for this particular show, they had Jon Carmen Ezzo on guitar and Trey Stanley on bass. The sound in this basement was astounding, leaving no room for anything but music.

They opened with a song called Mexico, followed by Milk. After Sean introduced everyone on the stage, he spoke into the mic, “Thank you all for being here tonight, this is only our second show,” and the crowd roared with excitement. After playing No Name, they performed one of their released songs, Wait for You. This song is about being in love with someone who isn’t yours… yet. At this point, Jon pulls an aluminum foil-wrapped cob of street corn out of his pocket, unwraps it, and eats it. After hearing the laughter from everyone in the audience, Sean questions, “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, the corn?” he asks, looking over his shoulder at Jon. “We all get hungry. Sometimes, you just need a mid-performance snack,” and joined in the laughter as they began the next song (title unknown). Jon held the corn in his mouth throughout the song and then passed it on to Trey before playing Into It, the other song that’s available on Spotify. Into It is an energetic tune great for dancing. They closed out their set with Taking it Day by Day, It’s Hard to Explain, and Burial Under the Weight. In general, soft serve’s stage presence is captivating and full of charisma, with vibes similar to The 1975, Surf Curse, or Two Door Cinema Club.

After a 30-minute break, slowcore boyband Homes at Night came out to play. Hank Compton and Aksel Coe are the two members that make Homes at Night. With songs like Bonnaroo, Tell Emma, and teasing their newest release Texaco, they did not disappoint.

The crowd was instantly into their vibe. Aksel’s intensity on the drums and Hank’s powerful vocals made us feel like we’d been through everything in these songs with them. Homes at Night sound similar to Soccer Mommy and Briston Maroney, music that fills you with a feeling of wistfulness.

With Hank on vocals and guitar and Aksel on drums, all other background music was played through a laptop on stage, making it feel like there were several more people on stage creating this beautiful sound together. They had everyone in attendance dancing and having the time of their life!

Following the two opening performances, the much-anticipated performance from The Thing With Feathers began. Lead singer Dave Welcsh started with a brief introduction to the band and its members (Alex on guitar, Kyle on bass, and Chris on drums). He also, seemingly with ease, got the crowd pumped up for their set. He excitedly told everyone that they were going to make up for the show being previously postponed. He then drew attention back to the Sigler House and thanked them for hosting this show. He also explained how full circle this performance was to them because the band did similar basement shows when they were first starting. He equated this experience to them going back to their roots, especially since the show was in Nashville, where the band is based.

Immediately after this introduction, the band started on a high note with their song Static. This track details the chase after someone that is both intimidating and intriguing. The crowd reaction was instantly nothing short of ecstatic. Everyone in attendance knew by the first song that they were in for an amazing set. This performance led to the next track: Lights Down Low, the band’s second-highest streamed song on Spotify. The energy in the venue only went up once they started playing this popular piece. All of the audience members couldn’t help but dance and jump around, and this would continue throughout the entirety of their energetic set.

Going into their next track Golden, a recently released single from the band, the audience couldn’t stop singing along with the band during this performance. This track is a light-hearted romantic tune with a catchy guitar riff and drum line. Transitioning from one of the band’s newest releases into the first song uploaded to their Spotify: Song of the Nighttime. Long-time listeners were in for a real treat with this one. This track was a little different from the preceding songs the band had performed thus far, due to this song having a hint of a blues edge to it. With it being an earlier song in the band’s discography, it also hinted back to this show being a full circle moment returning to their roots. The next track performed by the band was We’ll Be Fine, a bright and unifying tune uplifting the listeners as it encourages living in the moment, and that is exactly what those in attendance were doing. It’s an optimistic track detailing the rise out of a darker mindset, giving the listener a hopeful effect.

Moving on to an exciting track on this setlist, Dave asks the audience if they could play a new unreleased song for them. The crowd promptly erupted in excitement, not knowing what was to come. The new song was entitled Me n’ U. The band performing this song was a true testament to the performance being special. This track is one to be on the lookout for when it is released. After that gripping track, it led to their track Figure It Out, which is the band’s most streamed song on Spotify. Immediately you could tell this was a fan favorite. It instantly brought the energy up even more. In this performance, there were tons of crowd interactions such as Dave standing on a speaker in front of the stage and leaning down towards the audience members. Continuing into their electrifying set, they performed the tracks What You Want and Walk Home. Following these tracks, they performed their song Don’t Break My Heart. This track is describing a sort of push and pull kind of relationship. This performance was especially entertaining by guitarist Alex, who was delivering every ounce of his energy to the audience.

With the first note of the newer release Everything I’m Missing, the crowd went wild! Not a single person in attendance could stop dancing and singing along to this energetic song, the lyrics “Lately, I’m drawn to this constant commotion,” being screamed at the top of everyone’s lungs. By this point, everyone was ready to hear the final song, which also happens to be the title track of their new EP, Waste My Revenge, a song about reminiscing and holding onto an old love. Waste My Revenge brings out so many of those emotions we all try to keep bottled up inside, but the energy of the tune helps you scream along to the lyrics and finally let all of those pent-up feelings go.

If you haven’t listened to The Thing With Feathers, please go check them out on any major streaming service!