Put some Salt + Pepper On Your New Sound
by Scarborough LeWine, Contributor
Illustration by Audrey Haber, Contributor
I recently went to one of the best shows I’ve seen here at Oberlin, and I was the only student there. The act was Down the Road Stringband: a rotating group of gray-haired players who like to rip energetic fiddle tunes en plein air until the rain starts falling or the sun sets. Legion Field Community Garden brought them in, I guess, to play to some empty lawn chairs and a table of sweetcorn and tomato salad. I was there by chance via an email chain that I was accidentally cc’d on. As I gnawed on my delicious cob, I wondered: Why does it take biking back roads on under-the-table tipoffs to find old people rocking out at Oberlin?
In this case, the answer is obvious: guys like that are exactly where they want to be, and exactly where they’re wanted. If you eating like fresh corn and listening to the fiddle saw, you probably feel at home under a canopy tent in a late-summer field; the ’Sco, on the other hand, needs to cater to a wider (and perhaps hipper) audience. I think that’s part of the reason we bring in so many of these new young artists: no matter who you are, there is something to be gained from dipping your toes in the zeitgeist…
But young people aren’t the only ones making cutting-edge new sound. Example A: Nirosta Steel’s My Skyscraper (June 2026). Nirosta Steel is the alias of Steven Hall, Scottish-born Arthur Russell collaborator and, most relevantly here, a 69-year-old man. My Skyscraper is the first time he has released a comprehensive and original volume of work. He was active in the ’80s. He’s new in the big ’26. Get into the groove of “BOSS TRIX (BENNY’S SONG)” or feel the changeup at the 33rd second of “THAITANIUM.” Can you imagine yourself pretty tipsy in a crowded ’Sco, swaying like a neon sea anemone? In October, Hall will open in Queens for Chanel Beads, the paragon of the cool-toned electronic pop sound who graced the ’Sco back in September ’24. He’s right in there, and we could get him.
I’m sure many of us miss the indie folk of Haley Heynderickx or Sadurn tugging at our young heart strings. If that’s you, check out Punching the Clown (August 2026), a recent release by the band Lambchop. Lambchop is the passion project of 66-year-old Kurt Wagner; he’s also been writing and performing since the ‘80s. At this stage in his career, he reminds me of Smog, except ripe with well-earned wisdom and wet banjo leads. Give a listen to “Weakened”: It’s wistful, tender and just plain likeable. It’s also robust enough to fill a room. Put him on deck!
I’m not arguing from a moral standpoint for age-equity in our booking habits. Nor am I urging you to support the older local musicians who grace the stages at the periphery of our town—though doing so is frequently worthwhile. I’m suggesting that artists of any age are capable of creating new and exciting material: the kind of stuff we like to bring to Oberlin... so where are the 65+?
