Sioux City Kid

Pairing gruff, whiskey-soaked vocals, no frills roots rock and tales from the underbelly of the old, weird America...nestled somewhere between Tom Waits and Howlin' Wolf...Jared Griffin has the willingness to crawl the shadows for a song and the chops to bring the people and the stories that it encounters there to life. - Santa Cruz Weekly

Opening the night was San Francisco based seven-piece band, Sioux City Kid. The band is composed of lead vocalist Jared Griffin, Dave Odell (guitar), Adam Finkin (bass), Andrew Laubacher (drums), Jake Smolowe (keys), Mike Hirsch (sax) and Jon Liang (trumpet).

Although the evening's performance included just vocalist Jared Griffin and guitarist Dave Odell, their sound wasn't jeopardized. From guitar to harmonica to kick drum, both Griffin and Odell stepped up their performance, showing off their musical ability.

Sioux City Kid has extensive mixture of genres in their sound. From blues to rock to jazz, you get everything with this band. Their eclectic sound, paired up with their storytelling lyrics gives music enthusiasts something to look forward to when seeing them perform.

When it comes to Sioux City Kid, what makes them stand out is, hands down, the vocal abilities of Griffin. A gritty and raspy sound, Griffin adds another layer of twang and originality to this talented group of musicians.
- Sacramento Press

Opening the night was San Francisco based seven-piece band, Sioux City Kid. The band is composed of lead vocalist Jared Griffin, Dave Odell (guitar), Adam Finkin (bass), Andrew Laubacher (drums), Jake Smolowe (keys), Mike Hirsch (sax) and Jon Liang (trumpet).

Although the evening's performance included just vocalist Jared Griffin and guitarist Dave Odell, their sound wasn't jeopardized. From guitar to harmonica to kick drum, both Griffin and Odell stepped up their performance, showing off their musical ability.

Sioux City Kid has extensive mixture of genres in their sound. From blues to rock to jazz, you get everything with this band. Their eclectic sound, paired up with their storytelling lyrics gives music enthusiasts something to look forward to when seeing them perform.

When it comes to Sioux City Kid, what makes them stand out is, hands down, the vocal abilities of Griffin. A gritty and raspy sound, Griffin adds another layer of twang and originality to this talented group of musicians.
- Sacramento Press

The main act, Sioux City Kid, lit the venue on fire with their loud and rough American rock and roll. It’s hard to put them in any musical box, but that doesn’t mean that it is hard to enjoy their music. You can hear blues, gypsy jazz, ’50s rock and many other flavors in the music. The songs are intimate, pondering stories revolving around relationships and other real-life situations. Even though the music is fast and up-beat, the lyrics can be melancholic and blues-like.

Sioux City Kid sounded great even though there were obvious technical problems with the guitars. The songs and performance rolled fluidly and there was an air of confidence about the band that made it hard to believe they’ve only released one full length album. Jared Griffin has raspy voice that sounds like rough life itself, with a playful cockiness to it. The other main attraction of the band is Davey Diamonds on guitar, constantly moving and jumping around and abusing riffs and solos on his axe. The rest of the band played supporting roles in this production but did that very well. There wasn’t a weak link in the set, except for that guitar amp. - Performer Magazine

The bearded lead singer Jared Griffin kicked out the Americana jams with his powerful seven-piece band.

On a few of the songs, his voice went gravely, harnessing Tom Waits in an uptempo Nighthawks at the Diner vibe.

And there are elements of Danny Cohen, who also performed this last weekend.

Danny Cohen is a legend, jump on for the ride kids…..even though I love seeing Danny Cohen in a crowd of 30 or so people, he definitely deserves a packed Great American Music Hall gig.

As did Sioux City Kid. I guess it was their first performance at the historic venue since the lead singer kept thanking the space and the booker and almost went all Academy Awards on us.

It didn’t matter. They were reveling in the moment and we ate up every word and danced to every song.

There was even a happy mosh pit that took over the center floor. - SF Gate

The bearded lead singer Jared Griffin kicked out the Americana jams with his powerful seven-piece band.

On a few of the songs, his voice went gravely, harnessing Tom Waits in an uptempo Nighthawks at the Diner vibe.

And there are elements of Danny Cohen, who also performed this last weekend.

Danny Cohen is a legend, jump on for the ride kids…..even though I love seeing Danny Cohen in a crowd of 30 or so people, he definitely deserves a packed Great American Music Hall gig.

As did Sioux City Kid. I guess it was their first performance at the historic venue since the lead singer kept thanking the space and the booker and almost went all Academy Awards on us.

It didn’t matter. They were reveling in the moment and we ate up every word and danced to every song.

There was even a happy mosh pit that took over the center floor. - SF Gate

Mercy sakes alive! I found a doozy this time! Imagine if Ryan O’Reilly grew a beard, went less Folky and more Bluesy, and smoked a carton of cigarrettes a day for about a year. You know what he’d sound like? Sioux City Kid. As you may or may not remember, Ryan O’Reilly topped MarsBands’ Top 10 Songs of the Year last year because of his intensity, passion, and all-out fire he performs with for every single song. Sioux City Kid is no different. Actually, here’s an even better comparison – The Blue Valentines with a quicker beat.

You will hear, see, and feel every ounce of emotion and passion from every song Jared Griffin sings. Sings isn’t the right word – performs. Each song isn’t “just” a song. It isn’t “just” music. This is performance art at its finest, people! This is music that is absolute, sheer brilliance on levels most people have never even been aware of. This is music that gets me all fired up! Just like Ryan O’Reilly, Dead Sara, Well Hung Heart and so many other great bands and artists we’ve featured here on MarsBands, this is the kind of music I love to brag about. If you can find this kind of passion on mainstream radio, I’ll kiss your ass.

I quickly fell in love with the song Darlin’ Darlin‘. It has a nice quick pace, a simple yet effective drum beat, and harmonica! Love a song with harmonica. You just don’t hear enough of it anymore. The Folky/Blues sound you get from Sioux City Kid is wonderful, but I found myself marveling at the vocals.

After you’ve listened to the songs below courtesy of our friends over at ReverbNation, be sure to check out Sioux City Kid’s videos on YouTube. The live performances are what will bring you to a point of ecstasy. At least that’s how it worked for me. I was immensely impressed with the recorded songs, but you know you’ve found something special when they can make you enjoy their live stuff more. If this is your first time hearing Sioux City Kid, after you’ve calmed down from your excitement a bit, be sure to share the music with as many people as you can. Enjoy!
- Marsbands