Amidst Saint Patrick’s Day festivities, fans of folk-rock band The Paper Kites streamed into Thalia Hall. In anticipation of the band’s entrance—or, perhaps, as a byproduct of the weekend’s excess of Guinness—the venue was abuzz. March 17 was particularly special for The Paper Kites. This was the last show on the North American leg of the “At the Roadhouse” tour, and The Paper Kites would soon be setting off for the other side of the Pacific without their accompanying band. The show proved an incredible sendoff for The Paper Kites as they showcased their enduring musical talent, camaraderie, and passion.
The five-member band includes Sam Bentley, Christina Lacy, David Powys, Samuel Rasmussen, and Josh Bentley, joined for their North American tour by Hannah Cameron, Chris Panousakis, and Matt Dixon. The latter trio, dubbed The Roadhouse Band, were part of the concerts’ instrumentation and vocals. They were part of the innovative creative process behind the At the Roadhouse album. The Paper Kites and The Roadhouse Band took to writing and recording at Campbells Creek, a town of 2,000 whose claim to fame is a rich gold-mining history. It’s also home to Sound Recordings, a former stable and mining supply store that was converted to an analog-only recording studio. There, the band created a pub and performance space from scratch—the Roadhouse—and spent a month in residency. Their performances were not advertised online; rather, word of mouth brought audiences in. The Paper Kites also recorded the album’s music videos and a full-length performance in the Roadhouse.
The intimate ambiance fostered by the Roadhouse venue carried through to the “At the Roadhouse” tour. During “Bloom,” their most commercially successful song, and “Paint,” the final song before the encore, the five core members making up The Paper Kites clustered around a central microphone, an entourage of string instruments their sole accompaniment. Sam Bentley, The Paper Kites’s lead singer, encouraged audience interaction in dialogue and song—an easy feat for a raucous crowd that interjected at every chance. After the third song, Bentley checked in on the audience, joking that “a lot of sad people come to our shows.” He checked Thalia Hall’s pulse, then apologized: it was time for yet another sad tune. The band’s congeniality and playfulness made the venue of over 1,000 people feel as small as the album’s original audience.
One thing The Paper Kites are not is a backup band for a main singer. The group made a conscious effort to spotlight each member throughout the concert. Literal spotlights followed them in highlighted moments, and Bentley often stepped back to push the focus onto his fellow musicians. The dynamic between The Paper Kites’s members clearly reflects their 15 years of history. Though IPAs and green baseball caps replaced rye whiskey and cowboy hats at Thalia Hall, The Paper Kites brought the Roadhouse to us.
