Michigander returns to Free At Noon with new music, big energy

“Remember, it’s not about where you’re are, it’s about who you’re with.”

These words of advice and inspiration from singer-songwriter Jason Singer closed out a Free At Noon set from Michigander today. It was the Nashville band’s second midday performance at WXPN, building on their roof-raising appearance almost two years ago. And if there was a through-line to this set, it might have actually been about cars and driving (shoutouts to those who were tuned in while in their vehicle). On the one hand, images of the road showed up as a literal pastime from the perspective of traveling musicians, as well as a state of mind: the journey of hope and resiliance heard on the boot-stomp rock of “Giving Up,” the lovelorn escape heard on the dreamlike “East Chicago,” where Singer intones about crossing time zones to get away from heartache.

The other theme was confronting negative emotions and flipping them into something positive and transformative; that hit in the opening pulse of “Broadcast” and its refrain of “I’m An American Dreamer,” it showed up in the “very unreleased song” called “I’ll Be Okay,” which Singer explained is about coping with anxiety (“I’ll be okay, but I’m not okay right now.”); lyrically it hits heavy, sonically it’s pure uplift. The closing “Let Down,” where he led the audience in a refrain of “I’ve got high hopes,” even more so.

The new music will be on Michigander’s debut LP, which Singer said is due to release next year. The band’s most recent EP, It Will Never Be The Same, came out last year. Tonight, the band headlines The Foundry of The Fillmore Philadelphia. Tickets and more information on that concert can be found here. See more photos from Free At Noon below.