Cynthia Todd, MavRadio News Director
The Hudson branch hopes to connect with fans in more traditional ways while stepping outside the Chicago music scene.
The band is currently on the road promoting its new album, “Kina Ze Swah” and will play the Slowdown in Omaha on Oct. 28.
The Hudson Branch formed six years ago and is composed of two sets of brothers, Cobey and Corey Bienert and Matthew and Jacob Boll.
“We’ve kind of built our relationship around being brothers and there’s a lot of memories we’ve made together through doing music,” Cobey Bienert said. “The dynamic doesn’t really change because we’re brothers.”
The band describes its sound as “not experimental and not straight up pop.” Instead, it has influences from each genre with hints of rock, R&B, soul and folk.
“I think we’re still trying to find our sound,” Bienert said.
The band says each album is different and it’s a continually changing process.
“It stays sounding like us, but we incorporate different ways of making music compared to when we started,” Matthew Boll said. “It’s fun to do something new every time instead of recycling.”
With a changing sound and style of music, the band finds it hard to measure listener reaction. Although the group stresses connection with fans, it’s difficult to constantly maintain that mindset.
“I always feel in the dark about what people like about our music and don’t like,” Boll said. “I don’t know if it’s because we’re too close to it and we don’t know what people are thinking or what people are afraid to tell us.”
Even during live shows, the band doesn’t focus on what audience members think.
“The more I have the audience as the focus, the more I go inside myself and get lost in this confusing whirlwind of trying to figure out what people like,” Biernet said. “The best connection you can have is just being lost in the music and that’s what we tend to do.”
For The Hudson Branch, the best representation would be at a venue opposed to an online presence.
“It’s so hard for me to continue to follow social media and monitor what’s going on,” Boll said. “It seems to take away from being a musician.”
Both Bienert and Boll have taken a step back from social media and say the band is more focused on face-to-face connection with fans.
“It’s not that we don’t want to connect and reach people because we know that is a huge platform,” Bienert said. “You’re just going to experience me more at a show.”
Bienert says interacting with people at shows is one of the band’s favorite parts about performing live. People can expect to talk and socialize with the band members throughout the night.
The group’s upcoming tour will kick off in Chicago and will travel all the way to California.
“We’ve never done a string of shows this long in quite a while so we’re excited to see what will happen,” Boll said. “I feel like we’re the best as a band we’ve ever been before.”
This is The Hudson Branch’s first time in Omaha after establishing a name in Chicago, so concertgoers can expect the group to bring its vibe and new music to the area.
“We’re excited to show everyone else what we’ve been doing,” Boll said. “Who knows, something crazy might happen.”
When: Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m.
Where: Slowdown
How Much: $8 in advance
