The Milk Carton Kids – June 25th – Denver Botanic Gardens

Photos by Tim Dwenger

This was a special evening at The Denver Botanic Gardens.  With not one but two standout sets from masterful songwriters and instrumentalists, the gardens were awash in melody as those of us lucky enough to be there soaked up the evening and sipped our wine.

First up was 26 year old multi-instrumentalist and singer Sierra Hull, and somehow this angel voiced twenty-something had slipped under my radar until Monday night.  From the moment she took the stage with her two band-mates, I was in awe.  Her fingers danced on her mandolin strings and she dazzled with a brilliant mix of originals and covers including a take on Loretta Lynn’s “You Wanna Give Me A Lift” and the Tears For Fears classic “Mad World” – the latter of which featured Hull picking up an electric Mandolin in lieu of the acoustic.  She was a fabulous opener and, given how the capacity crowd responded to her music, I could easily see her headlining the venue in coming years.

Following Sierra Hull’s mesmerizing set, The Milk Carton Kids took the stage and brought with them a surprise for many in attendance, a backing band.  While Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale slipped into the hearts of their fans as a duo, as they tour in support of their most recent album, All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do, they have expanded to a sextet.  It was great to hear that the acts signature harmonies, and deadpan humor, were still vibrantly present, as their sound has blossomed.  Early on Kenneth quipped that this was the Colorado debut of the new songs but “if you were really savvy, you could have listened to them on NPR” as the album wasn’t scheduled to hit stores for another four days.  The crowd sat and listened attentively as they showcased “A Sea of Roses” from the new record alongside “No Hammer To Hold” and “Laredo” from Prologue and Retrospect respectively.

As the set past the halfway point, the four auxiliary members left the stage and the original Milk Carton Kids remained for a single mic duo interlude that featured, among others, fan favorite “Michigan” which drew perhaps the most fervent reaction of the night.  While we slipped out before the end to make sure my 5 year old got her beauty sleep, this was a very memorable evening at The Gardens and one that proved that Swallow Hill is still bringing in top notch talent who are pushing boundaries in their genres.