Siblings Page Burkum and Jack Torrey, better known as The Cactus Blossoms, performed on the MO Lottery Stage at the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in Stephens Lake Park on Sept. 30.
The Cactus Blossoms got its start in 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as natives Burkum and Torrey began playing together at local music venues. It wasn’t until the duo signed with Red House Records in 2015 that they were joined by bassist Beau Sample, guitarist Joel Paterson and drummer Alex Hall. The group released their first album together, “You’re Dreaming,” in 2016.
Since then, the band has received recognition by many in the country music scene. In 2017, the band was nominated for an Ameripolitan Music award and played their song “Mississippi” on Showtime’s reboot of “Twin Peaks.” Their next album is scheduled to be released in March 2019, which they revealed during their performance at Roots N Blues.
The five-piece band’s sound was a mix of rockabilly and bluegrass. Their lyricism matched that of Alex Turner, with a touch of twang. Burkem and Torrey’s heavenly harmonies were reminiscent of The Everly Brothers. The comparison between the two sets of brothers has been made frequently.
The band’s vintage, clean-cut look mirrored their music. They graced the stage with untarnished, straight-legged blue jeans, perfectly coiffed hair and button-up shirts. Some of the members even completed the illusion with sunglasses.
As the group performed, a soft autumn breeze blew through the trees located just to the right of the stage, causing leaves to periodically fall down on them like confetti. A majority of festival goers watched while sitting among the grass in a u-bend of hay bales and lawn chairs.
The band played a total of 16 songs, featuring crowd favorites and upcoming releases as well as covers of country classics “Who’ll Be the Next in Line” by The Kinks, “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” by Chuck Berry, “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line” by Waylon Jennings and “No More Crying the Blues” by Alton and Jimmy.
The audience watched earnestly and chatter among them diminished entirely as The Cactus Blossoms took them back in time.
The band channeled The Osborne Brothers’ signature bluegrass sound in their own songs “Change Your Ways or Die” and “If I Can’t Win.”
The sweet melody of the band’s “Powder Blue” drifted through the dusty fields of the park. The song felt like it came straight from the 1950s with lyrics “There’s only you on my mind / You’re all I want, baby all the time / Love so true, love divine.”
“Mississippi,” The Cactus Blossoms’ hit single, had the audience swaying rhythmically as Burkum and Torrey sang a chorus of “I’m going down to the sea / M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P.”
Near the end of the set, one of the brothers called out, “Can you hear us back there?” To which the audience collectively cheered, “Yes.” The brother joked back, “If we’d have known that, we would have played better.”
There was a positive energy in the air as the band exited the stage. Although it wasn’t one of the headlining acts like The Avett Brothers or Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, it was clear to me that The Cactus Blossoms had made its own mark on Roots N Blues, and that the audience had thoroughly enjoyed the hour-long set.
_Edited by Siena DeBolt | sdebolt@themaneater.com_
