Magnolia Electric Co. w/ Will Johnson & Tre Orsi

Once upon a time there was but an act named Songs: Ohia, and it was good. Led by midwest mystic and comforting debbie-downer Jason Molina, Songs: Ohia built a legion of dedicated fans on a foundation of archetypal imagery (think factories, trees, seas, night, birds, the color blue, etc.) and painstakingly heartfelt performance. Really, it's hard not to miss the earnest approach of the act, but a few years back Molina—an older and wiser Molina, perhaps worn out on so often being a solo musician, and worn out from writing music on the spare, sorrowful side—decided to retire the Songs: Ohia moniker and embrace a full band of country-ish bohemians under the Magnolia Electric Company nameplate. The result has been an often-rocking, often-joyful, often-classic-rock-y approach to songcraft. All that plus a bunch more awaits the eager beaver this Thursday night at the Mohawk, as Magnolia Electric Company headline a stellar three-deep lineup.

Playing the middle man is one of Austin's most well known troubadours, Will Johnson. The Centro-matic main man has called our burg his home for a long time, and his brand of southern/indie-tinged rock works just as well on crowds now as it did five years back. Opening up is the greenest of the three acts, for sure, but is also a band with which we should be getting pretty familiar: Denton's Tre Orsi, who have made Austin a regular stop on their way to national recognition. Featuring current and former collaborators of Shearwater, South San Gabriel, John Vanderslice, and Okkervil River, they put together seamless and delightful pop music with a distinctly Texan edge. Altogether it should be a pretty solid night of rock and roll.

Magnolia Electric Co. [MySpace] [Official]
Will Johnson [Centro-matic MySpace] [Official]
Tre Orsi [MySpace] [Official]