Dawes Make the Days Move Easy at La Zona Rosa [Show Preview]

If I wanted someone to clean me up, I’d find myself a maid
If I wanted someone to spend my money, I wouldn’t need to get paid
If I wanted someone to understand me, I’d have so much more to say
I want you to make the days move easy.
- Dawes' "If I Wanted Someone" from Nothing Is Wrong

Winding melodies around simple piano chords and guitar strums, interspersed with gorgeous vocal harmonies, Dawes' country folk songs leave the listener with a sense of peace. The simple songs are packed with emotion and relatable lyrics basking in swelling dynamics. Drawing comparisons from Neil Young to Edward Sharpe to Deer Tick, the group has found a niche in a vintage Laurel Canyon Californian sound blended with Americana overtones.

Nothing Is Wrong, Dawes' second album, was released this June. The record was written while the band was on tour, which helped shape the final instrumentation and tone according to Taylor Goldsmith, leader of the group. Opening for the likes of My Morning Jacket, Bright Eyes, and Alison Krauss this summer, the group will be headlining at tonight's La Zona Rosa show. They also plan to tour with Blitzen Trapper this fall as co-headliners, but an already sold-out October show in Dallas is as close as they'll get to Austin before next year.

If you can leave work early, Dawes will also rock an in-store appearance at Waterloo at 5pm. Opening for the La Zona Rosa show is Robert Ellis, a Texan native recently profiled in the New York Times.