Going shoeless during a Chicago winter doesn’t sound comfortable — or even sensible, but for The Barefoot Movement band, it’s the normal state of things wherever they perform, and the South Side in December is no exception.
The bluegrass/pop quartet is about to bring their annual toe-tappin’ Christmas concert to Frankfort, and, yes, they will be barefoot.
But this band doesn’t depend on gimmicks to get the audience’s attention. In addition to singing four-part harmony, classic Christmas standards from the big band era and some original tunes, local musician Katie Blomarz, 25, one of Frankfort’s own, will be playing upright bass and contributing to the vocals in the Smokey Barque’s upstairs banquet room Dec. 8.
“It’s really an invitation to kick back and relax, kick your shoes off and stay awhile and feel warm and welcomed to our shows,” Blomarz said. “It’s a time to just hang out and listen to some great acoustic music.”
Blomarz, who moved to Nashville in 2015 after earning a degree in music education from the University of Illinois, joined the band about two years ago. She happened to see a post on the band’s Facebook page saying the group was looking for an upright bass player. She had been freelancing and “kind of band hopping” for 10 months in Nashville and was ready for some stability, so she sent the band a video.
“They got back to me and the rest is history,” Blomarz said.
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Band founders Noah Wall, 29, lead singer and fiddle player, and Tommy Norris, 29, mandolin player, began touring in 2007. In the last decade, they have been featured multiple times in trade articles, including Country Weekly Magazine and Rolling Stone.com. Country Music Television’s CMT Edge described the band as “one of the most promising bands on the bluegrass scene,” and in 2014, the band received a Momentum Award as “Band of the Year” from the International Bluegrass Music Association.
Alex Conerly, 34, acoustic guitar player, joined the group in 2013, and Blomarz completed the quartet in 2015.
Blomarz said the band uses their unique blend of musical taste, knowledge and talent to make great music while enjoying what they do.
As for Blomarz, she’s having the time of her life.
“I see myself with these people as long as they’ll have me,” Blomarz said. “It’s really wonderful and the creative process is really fun.”
There’s an obvious admiration of her band mates in Blomarz’s descriptions of them. She describes Wall as a “petite little flawless singer” who brings her study of bluegrass and country music and her love of heavy metal to her songwriting and performances. Blomarz said Conerly is knowledgeable about “every genre of music there is” and “Tommy (Norris) and I both studied jazz in college.”
“We kind of bring our influences in to (the mix) so it’s really fun to make music with these people and to have an artistic outlet with these people,” Blomarz said.
Blomarz has been making music most of her life with the blessings of her family. Her father, Mike Blomarz, is a local musician who has been making the “big band” sound on his trombone for about 30 years with the Outcast Jazz Band.
Blomarz said her father and mother Bonnie have been “the most supportive people I could ever ask for,” especially when it comes to her music.
She acknowledges that not every parent would be thrilled to have a child who is “basically a nomad.”
“I love their feedback, they’re not going to sugarcoat a lot,” she said.
Blomarz began playing piano in elementary school and then switched to clarinet when she later joined jazz band. As a high school student at Lincoln-Way East, Blomarz joined both instrumental and vocal music groups, she said. She was immersed in the upright bass and jazz during her years at the University of Illinois and went straight to Nashville after earning her degree.
Blomarz said it’s pretty much been “full on touring” ever since she joined.
About 60 percent of the songs in the concert will be well-known Christmas standards made famous by singers such as Perry Como and Frank Sinatra, Blomarz said. The other 40 percent will be original music, some from a full-length recording the group is working on now under the direction of Chuck Plotkin, former producer for Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.
Blomarz said there will be some “surprises,” too, such as a little bit of “schtick” here and there for fun.
It’s what they do.
If you are left wanting more, “The Barefoot Movement Christmas Album” was recently released and can be purchased at the website.
Ginger Brashinger is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
The Barefoot Movement concert
When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8
Where: Smokey Barque, 20 Kansas St., Frankfort
Cost: Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. For reserved seating, email Mike Blomarz at [email protected] or purchase tickets at the door
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Etc.: Concert is upstairs
Information: thebarefootmovementofficial.com