IV and the Strange Band to Play Minneapolis on Halloween
Hank Williams descendant Coleman Williams, aka IV and the Strange Band, is coming to the Uptown VFW on October 31, and opening act James Eugene Russell recorded a spooky rendition of The Misfits’ “Halloween” in anticipation of the show. Watch the video and learn more about the show!
Coleman Williams of IV and the Strange Band. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Maybe it’s because his name’s not Hank, or maybe it’s because his music strays farther from old-time country than any of his legendary family members before him. For whatever reason, not everyone knows that the great-grandson of Hank Williams Sr. is a touring artist, and a damn good one at that.
Coleman Williams, who heads up the act IV and the Strange Band, has been through Minneapolis pretty recently, and I can attest that those who know him love him; the front rows at the Hook and Ladder last December were full of folks talking about how many times they’d traveled to catch his live show. And he must not’ve had too bad a time here, because he’s back with a show at the Uptown VFW this Tuesday, October 31. It’s part of his “Monster Mash” tour; we’re just lucky enough to be the city he hits on Halloween!
For Minneapolis singer-songwriter James Eugene Russell, one of the openers on the VF bill (along with Twin Cities country act Goatroper), this show feels particularly serendipitous and exciting.
For one, IV and the Strange Band blends a harder-rock sound with outlaw and alt-country sensibilities. It reminds Russell—who spent years in the punk rock scene before segueing to Americana—of Coleman’s father Hank III, who was one of the first acts to get him interested in making country music. Hank III tended to put a dividing line between his country music and his heavy stuff—often playing two completely different sets on the same night—while “IV” melds the sounds into his own signature style.
Russell says it also seems like a sort of homecoming for IV and the Strange Band to come to Minneapolis, a city that Hank III praised on more than one occasion as being one of his favorite tour stops (he played the First Avenue mainroom a couple times).
Additionally, Coleman Williams is an avowed Replacements fan. The loop of synergy here feels particularly fortuitous: The Replacements were big Hank Sr. fans, even covering his songs from time to time (including on the aforementioned mainroom stage). The Uptown VFW where IV will play next week is smack in the middle of some Replacements-related landmarks such as the CC Club (inspiration for their 1985 song “Here Comes a Regular”), the Midtown Greenway (former site of the railroad tracks pictured in an iconic publicity photo), and the Bryant Ave. house featured on the album cover of Let It Be.
The timing of the show also excites Russell. “It’s Halloween; punks just really love Halloween,” he says. (Hopefully IV and the Strange Band will play their dark, twisted funhouse of a song “I’m Gonna Haunt You”!)
In honor of the occasion, Russell and his band have worked up a cover of a Misfits song—“Halloween,” naturally—that they plan to play during their opening set. Russell and his fiddle player Jake Johnson captured their rendition, slowed-down and spooky, in a fireside field recording, which we’re honored to premiere exclusively here today.
The lo-fi video is mesmerizing and atmospheric; you can even hear an owl hoot at one point if you listen carefully! So check out the video, get tickets to the show, and we’ll see you at the VFW!
Watch James Eugene Russell’s cover of “Halloween” now!
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is the primary writer, social media manager, podcast producer and event-calendar updater for Adventures in Americana. By day she’s a marketing writer/brand strategist. In addition to playing guitar and songwriting, she writes self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley.
