Chase Mueller, bassist for Post Sex Nachos, leans into the music as guitarist Mitch Broddon plays a solo during Nacho Fest on April 29, 2023, at Rose Music Hall in Columbia, Mo. “I think the most special part for me anytime we get the chance to do something like this is that my brother’s band, Little Cowboy, is also on the bill,” said Mueller. “Getting to perform with him live on all these different shows is the coolest thing ever, because he and I kind of taught each other how to play instruments. So it’s awesome.”
From surf rock groups to indie bands, a diverse group of musicians call the Columbia music scene a home
From jazz bands to jam bands, the Columbia music scene is home to many genres of music. While some genres, such as indie rock, have grown in popularity among local bands, other music groups have traveled down a different path.
The Wilson Park Rangers, a self-titled “psychedelic surf rock trio,” composed of Hunter Bailey, Eric Qvam and Jalen Julian, has recently joined the Columbia music scene. The band began practicing this alternative genre of music six months ago. Since then, Julian, the drummer, and his fellow band members have been performing at various spots around Columbia.
“[Indie rock is] the most popular thing right now, and it’s what gets people interested,” Julian said. “I like doing something different though. I don’t like going with the grain.”
For Julian, pursuing music while growing up also did not go with the grain. Growing up in El Dorado Springs, a small town located in Southwest Missouri, there was a lack of a major music scene for Julian to participate in. However, upon moving to a college town, Julian was met with a plethora of opportunities.
“The music scene is a lot bigger [in Columbia] — there’s a lot more people,” Julain said. “There’s people that kind of think like me, and I didn’t have that in that small town. It’s really nice to come here. It almost feels more like home than home.”
Julian was not the only musician who expressed this feeling about Columbia’s music scene. Zach Sullentrup, singer of the rock band Tidal Volume, performed with his band during his college career at MU.
After graduating in 2016, Sullentrup and some of his fellow band members returned home to St. Louis. However, the group of musicians have continued to perform shows around the state, frequently returning to Columbia.
“Columbia is always fun,” Sullentrup said. “We feel like kids when we play there because we were kids when we played there.”
From The Blue Note to Rose Music Hall, Sullentrup and his band members have performed at a handful of local venues in downtown Columbia. While reminiscing on past performances, Sullentrup recounted a memorable instance on stage at The Blue Note.
“I jumped out in the crowd with a mic stand, which is something I only had the boldness to do because the crowd was really electric,” he said. “There’s so many things that have happened just because we were feeding off the energy of the crowd.”
For many musicians in Columbia, performing at The Blue Note is an experience like no other. Post Sex Nachos, an indie rock band that originated in Columbia, has performed at the venue several times. Since their first show in 2019, the band has performed for crowds in over 120 venues across the state and beyond.
Post Sex Nachos poses behind the Rose Park stage, where all of the Nacho Fest artists kept their equipment between sets on April 29, 2023 in Columbia, Mo.
However, one of the most memorable venues for the band’s bassist, Chase Mueller, has remained The Blue Note.
“[The Blue Note’s] got the best sound in town,” Mueller said. “It’s a great big venue, there’s a lot of history in there. The Blue Note is legitimately a very unique, special venue, so it’s cool to come home to that.”
Although the band officially left Columbia over a year ago, the group still makes an effort to return at least twice a year.
“Whenever we’re doing the drive into Columbia, now that we don’t live there, we get the goosebumps — just thinking about how much fun and how many awesome memories we have in town and how many people we get to visit when we’re back in town,” Mueller said.
After gaining much popularity and achieving high success, the band was granted the opportunity to tour across the country. From New York to Chicago, the musicians have played at venues in over a dozen cities. Nevertheless, no matter how far they go, the band says they are almost always greeted with a familiar “M-I-Z” from the crowd.
From energetic crowds to unique venues, the Columbia music scene continues to keep artists of all genres coming back.
“We can’t escape Columbia no matter how hard we try,” Sullentrup said. “We definitely think of it as a second hometown just because we played it so much … We have relationships there and enjoy the venues, so it’s always fun to be back in Columbia.”
Edited by Annie Goldman | agoldman@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Jae Green and Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com