event

Justin Wells, Porter Union, Austin Lance Howell
Thu February 8, 2018 8:00 pm (Doors: 7:00 pm )
The Southgate House Revival - Sanctuary
Ages 18 and Up
$15.00
Justin Wells

On Dawn in the Distance, Wells’ voice still packs a Kentucky-sized punch, but his solo debut takes a look beyond the Southern stomp of his former band. Call the new sound Americana. Call it blue-collar country. Call it fiery folk. While recording the album, Wells was simply concerned with serving the songs, teaming up with producer Duane Lundy (Sunday Valley, Joe Pug, Vandaveer) and creating Wells’ most affecting album to date. Songs like “Going Down Grinnin’” (which Wells describes as “embracing failure with a smile”) and “Three Quarters Gone” (inspired by the retirement of the singer’s father) are layered with pedal steel guitar, auxiliary percussion, and keys. 

On the album’s front cover, a beat-up suitcase sits beside a door. For years, that suitcase carried Fifth on the Floor’s merchandise. Now, it serves a different purpose, connecting Wells’ past with his next destination. He’s still traveling, still writing songs, still spending long evenings behind the wheel. He’s just pointed at a different horizon.

Porter Union

Porter Union, led by husband and wife, Cole Michael Porter and Kendra Porter, is the result of the two old souls spending the better part of the last decade traveling the country together to play their music everywhere from the dive bars and honky tonks to festivals and theaters. When you hear the story of Cole and Kendra meeting in a hometown bar, falling in love while writing and playing together, it sounds like fairy tale built by corporate music row. Luckily, that’s where the comparison stops - you won’t find overproduced, cliche filled songs here. Their honest approach to songwriting combines raw emotional themes with a traditional country sound to bring the listener into the story. It’s no surprise they’ve shared a stage with a variety of notable artists including Cody Jinks, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Whitey Morgan, and David Allan Coe. 

With a vision to create a relatable album with a touch of nostalgia, the couple teamed up with producer Joshua Thompson in January 2017. Thompson, who is also the bassist for Cody Jinks, gained notoriety as a producer after taking the lead producer role on Jinks’ latest record ‘I’m not the Devil’. The self-titled album is set to release in June 2017 and you’ll find Porter Union out on the road the rest of the year with tour dates as far west as California and east of the Mississippi over the next year.

Austin Lance Howell

I play music with my band Big Shoals, also the occasional solo acoustic show. 



I grew up in South Georgia, and began playing music when I was ten. I was raised on mostly country and gospel music, and by the time I hit my teen years I dove into the blues deciding I wanted to become a better guitarist. In highschool I had a regular gig at a club playing every wednesday and sunday night, playing mostly covers and a few originals here and there, the ones I thought were worth a damn anyways. As I got older, and hopefully more mature, I began focusing more on my songwriting, and the art of building a song that felt more like a journey than just something to sing along to. After I graduated highschool I played continually around South Georgia and North Florida, and did that until things slowed down. Once they did I buckled down and got a "real job", but always planned on music being my career at some point. After a few years, and a few beers, I moved to Tulsa, OK and began playing lead guitar in my cousin "Fiawna Forte"s backing band. Playing in and around Tulsa, at festivals, award shows, regular shows, and also playing at SXSW in Austin, TX in 2009/2010. After doing that for nearly 3 and a half years I decided to move back down south to Gainesville, FL and focus on the material I had been writing for the past 4 years or so, and to also be closer to some of my family. Some of my main influences are Wilco, Drive-By Truckers, Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams, Josh Ritter, and many more. I'm currently in the studio recording what will be a 5 song EP and shooting for a release the beginning of next year or early spring. For now, I've got 2 songs posted that I'd love for you to listen to and share with your friends. Hope you like it, and I hope to see you somewhere down the road. Im not giving up until this ride ends. 
Cheers! 

LH