Southeastern Virginia’s music scene arrived in Charlottesville in full force last Friday as The Last Bison brought bold Chesapeake charm to The Southern.
Dressed in colonial garb and donning beards, band members mingled with the crowd before taking the stage. The intimate vibe continued as The Last Bison opened with “Quill,” a track from their first independently produced album.
As lead singer Ben Hardesty continuously broke strings, his father came over to help him fix them. Ben introduced him, saying, “This is my dad, Dan Hardesty. He plays banjo, mandolin and violin like a boss.” Familial ties in the band run deep. Ben’s sister, Annah, plays the bells and sings, and the other four band members are close family friends.
Paired with a complex arrangement, the songs hinted at subtle religious undertones: “We will run away/ From those who lead us astray/ Searching hard we will fully rely/ On the grace of the one crucified,” Ben sang. The band successfully integrated its spiritual inspiration into moving songs, dropping these subtle messages in an unpretentious manner.
After releasing their last album almost a year ago, the band members have evidently been working on new music and even played a few new tracks that the crowd didn’t know the words to yet. The new songs continued the beloved musical layers typical of their style and their thought-provoking lyrics, all while sounding different enough to keep fans interested.
Abandoning the mainstream, The Last Bison offers a positive message paired with truly Virginian indie sound sure to achieve massive appeal in the near future.
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