SLCene Suggests: Jay William Henderson at Velour in Provo

JAY WILLIAM HENDERSON, VELOUR, Provo, Friday, March 23, 8 p.m., $8

Fans of Band of Annuals have seen the former members of that venerable Utah roots-based band continue in exciting new musical directions since that group’s demise a couple years back, and that continues with the release of singer/songwriter Jay William Henderson’s solo debut, The Sun Will Burn Our Eyes. The nine new songs have actually been floating around for a while now via digital downloads and vinyl–early enough to land on Magnet magazine’s Top 10 Indie Roots Albums list for 2012, alongside the likes of Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers and Old Crow Medicine Show. Suffice to say, Henderson’s music is coming from a slightly different, starker place than those groups, a place where searching and spirituality, melancholia and celebration share a home. On the album, Henderson tapped a high-caliber army of musicians to join him, including local notables like David Williams, Sayde Price, Ryan Tanner and Dylan Schorer, among many others, and the results are both a beautiful album, and a singular musical vision that I find undeniable. (At the time of this writing, Henderson was offering a digital download of the album for free, right here). Henderson is finally getting around to playing some proper album release shows, and this one looks to be the best of the bunch, featuring the awesome and intimate Provo venue Velour, Henderson’s songs fleshed out with a full band of guests, and sets by The Devil Whale’s Brinton Jones and Book on Tape Worm’s Scott Shepard.