Magic Tuber Stringband at the Jazz Gallery in Milwaukee on July 25, 2026

The Magic Tuber Stringband hails from Durham, North Carolina. Their blend of avant-folk reminded me quite a bit of folk drone legends Pelt as well as Universal Light. Their recent album on Thrill Jockey, Heavy Water, is packed with plenty of haunting melodies seasoned with an uneasy glowing light.

They came to the Jazz Gallery in July during a 17-date East Coast and Midwest tour for a brief but mesmerizing set.

Purchase their new album here.

Recording information:

  

MAGIC TUBER STRINGBAND

2026-07-25

Milwaukee, WI

Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts

Courtney Werner: fiddle

Evan Morgan: guitar

Michael DeVito: bass and banjo

Setlist:

01 Marker of a Drowning (4:06)

02 Wintering Grounds (5:14)

03 Blooms in the Rapids (4:57)

04 Tribute to the Angels (4:17)

05 Where the Place Becomes Forgetting (3:37)

06 Twelfth House (4:23)

07 Scintillation (3:34)

08 Days of Longing (5:34)

Total time = 35:42

Recorded with explicit prior permission by Richard Hayes for www.milwaukeetaper.com

Microphones: Line Audio CM3 in ORTF

Additional source: mono soundboard feed

Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii

Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

audio downloads 

these will automatically download when you click them:

  

16bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC files (257 MB)

these lossless files can be burned to CD, if you are into that sort of thing

320 kbps mp3 files (127 MB)

highest quality mp3 files possible

video of a performance in Knoxville in May, 2025: