Barefoot hillbilly summer fun at Soda Bar with Whiskey Shivers

Every once in a while you just got to get your fiddle on. Austin, Texas–based Americana roots-rock band Whiskey Shivers got the job done on a warm Saturday night at the Soda Bar.

The Whiskey Shivers are nice guys. They want you to have a good beer-drinking, foot-stomping time. Playing music from their third album, Rampa Head, the quintet of standup bass, banjo, guitar, fiddle, and washboard made the most of their first time playing in California.

Shots of whiskey, inappropriate jokes, and broken guitar strings filled time between the hillbilly bluegrass songs. When lead singer Bobby Fitzgerald can rock a mullet, sleeveless plaid, and play a fiddle while looking cool, they must be doing something right. They riled up the crowd with taunts that their previous show in Tucson had a better audience. The patrons at the Soda couldn’t let Arizona show them up, and so commenced the first of many whiskey shots sent to the stage, which the boys gladly accepted.

Guided to hold your lover just a little closer with the country ballad–styled “Darlin’” to the rambunctious banjo-driven “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” you couldn’t help but vibe to their free-spirited approach. There is nothing worse than a band that takes itself too seriously. After the last strum onstage, the Shivers managed to setup in the crowd and cram out just one more jam in the small bar space before calling it a night. Barefoot hillbilly summer fun all around.

• Concert: Whiskey Shivers
• Date: August 3
• Venue: Soda Bar
• Seats: General