Rich Marvin is back with us.
He was at Cape Cod Beer Co. in Hyannis on May 15th and caught Wildflower Lane doing Wildflower Lane things: moving between covers and originals and having a good time doing it. Good friends of HyperLocal’s, the band is Adrian Punch, guitar & vocals, Catie Flynn, guitar & vocals, Pat Croke, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, vocals, Malcolm Carlisle, keyboards, Joseph Hoyt, bass and John Kew, drums. If you haven't seen them yet, we’ll leave it to you what Rich thinks about whether or not you should.
Back To Black by Amy Winehouse
MUST LISTEN as Catie Flynn sings a powerful lead on this Amy Winehouse classic for Wildflower Lane. WFL is a Cape Cod-based roots-driven Americana band known for blending folk-rock and acoustic soul with rich harmonies and original songwriting. Between the three great lead vocalists, really tight musicians, and lots of creative original material, they are a force to be reckoned with and not like typical cover bands on Cape Cod.
Original song Wandering Soul by Wildflower Lane
This is one of their most recent and popular singles with Adriene Punch singing the lead. The rest of the band backs him up and it’s a nice tune. It takes a lot of courage and creativity to create original content, and this band is happy to do that. What I like most about watching Adrian perform is that he is having fun and he’s making sure that his fellow band members are having fun and therefore we the audience feel the vibe and we’re having fun. It seems simple, but it’s not and we have all seen those bands in conflict, where despite their talent, they are not having fun and we feel it. You won’t find that on Wildflower Lane, it’s a happy place as the name suggests.
Friend of the Devil by the Grateful Dead
Pat Croke takes the lead on this Dead classic and does it perfectly. The whole band provides back up and then just jams out and although I’ve not attended a Dead show, I get the feeling that this is the vibe. Pat Croke is a visual artist as well and his preferred mediums are a Martin D 16 and acrylic on canvas. He’s 1/2 of the folk duo, Salted Folk with friend and collaborator Catie Flynn. And he can usually be found on Fridays at the Hot Stove playing solo from 10 PM to midnight. Wildflower Lane really appears to be a collaboration of ringers and I strongly advise you see them if you get a chance.
Original song Working the Tide by Wildflower Lane
Adrian sings lead on this song, which is truly a Cape Cod related classic. When you think about it, other than Patty Paige, and we love her, there are not many songs that really embody what a lot of Cape Codders go through. I think this song really captures a feeling of what it’s like to work in our Cape Cod towns and villages. I also love the fact that these Brewster area folks came all the way to Hyannis to play their songs. We need to completely support them as a community because these are our people and they need you and me to show up at their gigs, especially when they go way out of their comfort zone.
River by Leon Bridges
Man oh man, Catie can sing and play a song and backed by this band, it was one of the most special moments of the evening. These guys are selfless and united together to make the best sound possible. It does not matter who sings lead, just that they do it all together. That said, Catie is a next level performer and when she goes into the zone like she did on this song, it’s awesome. Catie is a singer songwriter born and raised on Cape Cod. She attended Berklee College of Music in Boston where she studied vocal performance and music business. She is part of the duo Salted Folk with Pat Croke, and does solo performances and group performances with several other bands.
Original song Cocaine Friend by Pat Croke
MUST LISTEN because this song has unique breaks where the band goes silent and they enjoy it so much and so does the audience. It’s so interesting that the silent moments can be so much fun in music. Pat Croke wrote this original song and his bandmates perform it with gusto. How does this relate to a cocaine friend, I’m not sure but I’d like to know. The really special thing about going out and seeing live performances is that oftentimes you will catch moments like this song. I would strongly advise if you get the chance to see Wildflower Lane this summer on Cape Cod, you do it. I promise you will enjoy it.
•••••
Follow Wildflower Lane on Instagram @wildflowerlaneband.
Follow Rich Marvin on Instagram & Facebook.
Subscribe to the HyperLocal Cape Cod YouTube Channel.
