The Bandwagon Summer Series kicks off with these two underground bands from the Brooklyn Barbés scene.

Big Lazy and Mamie Minch share a vibe if not a genre. Big Lazy is completely instrumental, self-described as "crime jazz & highway twang", while Mamie is an acoustic blues crooner, singer-songwriter, and dogged feminist. But they're both slightly punk, very DIY, and fiercely independent — the atmosphere is retro; a bit old-fashioned in a noble sort of way; the music has one foot in the present and the other in the past, sometime back before people sat around all day staring at smartphones.

And the two bands are friends, which makes this double-bill a sweet and intimate occasion for them both to share some songs with you from their respective songbooks — music from across the American landscape of blues & jazz & twang, from inside the crowded bellies of cities and out on the loneliest of country roads.

Each band will play a full set.

BIG LAZY has flourished for over two decades in NYC's downtown music scene. Simultaneously noir and pastoral, gothic and modern, the trio conjures images from big sky country to seedy back rooms with cinematic clarity. With a nod towards classic guitar instrumentals and a fiery performance style, their most recent album, Dear Trouble, captures the essence of their legendary live shows.

Big Lazy founder Stephen Ulrich is the composer for the HBO series Bored to Death and the art forgery documentary Art and Craft. His filmic music can be heard in numerous recent episodes of NPR's This American Life.

MAMIE MINCH is a longtime staple of New York's acoustic blues scene. Listening to her sing and play is like unpacking a time capsule of American music that's been stored in her 1930's National steel guitar for decades and filtered through a modern femme sensitivity. Mamie's newest release Slow Burn is a collaboration with drummer/producer Dean Sharenow that sees her traditional influences stretch out, turn up, and get funkier.

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