There’s something about a rock show on a Friday night that just feels right.
Outside the club, the world seems perpetually fueled by anxiety and tension. But inside these beer-soaked sanctuaries, six-string escapism prevails — for a few hours, at least. Instead of scrolling through posts about our impending doom, people can stand shoulder to shoulder, sweaty and sore-voiced as they sing along to candid stories. With each hook, the band brings a wave of sound that makes the noise outside feel a little less loud. The turmoil that inevitably awaits us outside the club’s walls? It can wait.
And on Friday night at The Basement East, indie-rock band Michigander proved the perfect soundtrack for a rowdy forget-the-world-and-have-fun show. The project of singer-songwriter Jason Singer — a native of (you guessed it) Michigan who relocated to Nashville in 2022 — ’Gander packed the Music City stronghold to celebrate the release of Michigander, a debut LP that comes nearly a decade after Singer self-released his debut single.
Michigander’s adopted-hometown album release show comes after years of paying dues on the road. Singer cut his teeth playing basement gigs for gas money, releasing music on Bandcamp and lobbying college radio for airplay time. Now he’s caught a well-earned wave of buzz for his collection of earnest songs that come backed by sticky melodies and just-loud-enough riffs.
Michigander
On Friday, Singer and his band filled The Basement East with an audience led by 20-something kids hungry for indie-rock hooks. (If you’ve been near Belmont campus, you know the type.) Onlookers heard Singer and his band channel heartland-rock balladeering on the show-starting number “Broadcast” — also the album opener — before moving into a take on unvarnished self-awareness with album single “Emotional” and fan favorite sing-along “Misery.”
“Can we just take it in for a second?” Singer said at one point early in the show. He paused, then added: “After 10 years of being an artist, which is a weird word to call yourself, I put out my debut album today with so many of my best friends and so many talented people from this city. It just feels so special.”
Michigander
The celebration continued with Singer digging into Michigander songs like “Peace of Mind” — a co-write with go-to Nashville rock producer Butch Walker — and the punk-tinged standout “Socialite.” He occasionally moved to the keyboard, like during the polished number “Breaker Box,” or acoustic guitar, which accompanied “I’ll Be OK,” a synthy pop-rock tune dedicated to battling anxiety. He and his band prefaced a few songs with snippets of cherry-picked covers, like Chappell Roan’s “Coffee” before new song “Important,” or the U2 classic “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” before the sprawling, wintry love tune “East Chicago, IN.”
Sydney Sprague
And the night featured a few pop-up guests, of course. Sought-after local songwriter Trent Dabbs joined Michigander for “Better,” a track he co-wrote for the new album. Friend-of-the-band Young Ritual opened the show, while support came from Sydney Sprague. An Arizona native, Sprague spun a sharp set of indie-rock tunes anchored by truth-telling wordplay. (Seriously, don’t sleep on the song “Quitter.”)
The show reached a crescendo when Michigander kicked into the 2023 song “Superglue,” complete with a nah-nah-nah sing-along conducted by Singer during the song’s uber-catchy reprise. From there, the band turned to 2020 single “Let Down” before addressing onlookers for a final word of thanks.
“We love you so much,” Singer said as the band readied “Giving Up,” the show-closing number. “You are our community. This is our home. … It’s not about who you are, but who you’re with.”
The worst part? After it ended, it was time to step back into the real world.
Also check out photos of Sydney Sprague
