Big Something

w/ Natalie Brooke

Charleston Pour House - Main Stage

5pm doors /6pm show 

Natalie Brooke + 2 x sets of Big Something 

Ticket Prices: 
$20 advance / $25 day of show for Sunday

Big Something

Hailing from the North Carolina countryside, or “The Middle of Nowhere,” as it’s proudly dubbed on their debut album, the 6 headed musical monster known as 'Big Something' has steadily become one of the most unique and exciting rock bands to emerge from the Southeast. Their musical alchemy is deeply rooted in the strong bond of its members—Nick MacDaniels [lead vocals, guitar], Jesse Hensley [lead guitar, vocals], Casey Cranford [saxophone, E.W.I. “Electronic Wind Instrument”], Ben Vinograd [drums], Josh Kagel [keys, trumpet], and Matt Laird [bass].

After over a decade of touring together with 7 full-length studio albums and even their own Summer music festival The Big What?, Big Something has emerged as a grassroots phenomenon in the live music community.

“I’m proud that we’ve stuck together through all of this,” notes Nick. “We have our own unique thing as a group, and I’m very excited about where it’s always been going.”

The band has progressively evolved their catalog with each subsequent release. From their debut album Stories from the Middle of Nowhere in 2010, through fan favorites a la Big Something [2013], Truth Serum [2014], Tumbleweed [2017], The Otherside [2018], and Escape [2020], they have constantly pushed the boundaries of their sound. Among many highlights, “Song For Us” and “Love Generator” have accumulated millions of Spotify streams, while their performances at Sweetwater 420 Fest, Lock’n, Electric Forest, Peach Music Festival, Summer Camp, High Sierra and 10 years of their own festival, The Big What? have further solidified their place as luminaries of progressive improvisational rock.

Their seventh studio album, Headspace [out 11/17 on Truth Serum Records], is significant for the band in many ways. Featuring a collection of songs written over the past few years as the world emerged from a strange moment in history, Headspace was inspired in large part by the ongoing conversations surrounding mental health. As the band releases each new single, they will also spotlight several non-profit organizations focused on helping people navigate mental health and wellness. Headspace will also mark the band’s last studio release with founding members Doug Marshall (bass) and Josh Kagel (keys/trumpet), both of whom announced their retirement from touring in 2023.

For the new album, Big Something journeyed to Cannon Falls, MN to track at the legendary Pachyderm Recording Studios— birthplace of Nirvana’s In Utero, where they lived together in a guest house overlooking a serene trout stream tucked away into nature. 

“We cooked dinner together every night, recorded all day, and really enjoyed a special moment in time making this album,” Nick goes on. “It was such a cool bonding experience. We really locked in together musically and tried to tap into the special energy at Pachyderm.”

That palpable energy surges through the album’s lead track and first single, “The Mountain.” The six minute-plus epic sinks its teeth in and clenches its jaw, twisting and turning through organ-laden fuzz towards a rapturous refrain. “The Mountain” carries deeper meaning for the tight-knit group, and the lyrics pay homage to Nick’s lifelong best friend and frequent collaborator Paul Interdonato, who wrote a majority of Big Something’s lyrics before his tragic passing in 2017.

“‘The Mountain’ started with one of the last lyrics I have written down in a journal from Paul,” Nick goes on. “Coming up the mountain, I can see it all again - the chorus is a metaphor for getting over trauma.”

Interdonato’s struggle also inspired the theme of the single “Clouds”.  A collaboration with Andy Frasco and Justin Osborne of SUSTO, the gripping work delves into dark subject matter over a blissful cloud of catchy sounds. Musically, this is perhaps the most salient display of the breadth of Big Something’s jaw-dropping musicianship and genre fluency. The slinky earworm isn’t easily forgotten, and showcases head-nodding bass, slick guitars, and keys locked into a funky intergalactic strut, giving way to a distortion-boosted refrain and synth solo.

“I went to write with Andy in Denver and played him a rough recording of the instrumental,” recalls Nick. “It didn’t have any lyrics yet, so he was helping me think of ideas. We landed on the thought of ‘living in the clouds’ as a metaphor for addiction. And the character in the song is a close friend who may never come back down.”

Big Something leaned into collaboration yet again on “Bob and Weave,” a track originally penned by another close friend and frequent collaborator, Josh Phillips from Asheville, NC. The buoyant track sees otherworldly electronics wheeze as the riff slinks beneath swaggering verses and an uplifting chorus.

“Getting to know Josh has been so much fun. He’s an incredible singer-songwriter and reminds me a lot of Paul in certain ways. From what I can tell, ‘Bob and Weave’ is basically about waking up and trying to get through the anxiety of life with the help of friendship — and maybe some cannabis,” MacDaniels added.

Then, there’s “Algorithm,” a track that serves as a spiritual predecessor to fan favorite “Love Generator.”

“It's sort of like a prequel or counterpoint to ‘Love Generator’ which takes place in a distant future where machines learn to love and become human. In ‘Algorithm,’ humans are shutting down and turning into machines,” he elaborates.

Rounding out the album, the band brought everything full circle with a final nod to Paul by re-recording the first Big Something song ever written, “Amanda Lynn.” Originally released on their 2010 debut album Stories From The Middle of Nowhere, “Amanda Lynn” features the first lyrics that Interdonato contributed to the band. 

“We thought it was a cool way to connect everything to the roots of our story,” MacDaniels explained.

In the end, Big Something's tale is a testament to the power of friendship and that bond burns brighter now than ever as the band prepares to journey across the US for their recently announced HEADSPACE Tour - their biggest headlining tour to date.  

“This started out as a group of friends, and it’s turned into a family over the years. I love this music and this band and what we do and I hope people can hear and feel that in what we create.”

Natalie Brooke

Natalie Brooke is a rock star. A virtuoso funk / rock keys player leading her powerhouse 4-piece band from the Baltimore area. The explosive act is fronted by Natalie on keys, synth, keytar, and vocals and backed by drummer Nathan Shulkin, Nester on the bass, and Luke Walker on the guitar. 

She kicks off every show with a punch and never lets the energy drop - audiences move, dance, scream, jump, and ride the wild wave of the set with her and the band. Natalie’s music was once said to be a mashup of Rick James and Rush. She has an undeniably infectious vibe featuring a fiery blend of fast tempos and sloshy rock elements balanced with her transcendent jazz and classical roots. Natalie brings an exceptionally unique approach to the keyboard that is equally percussive and melodic that lights up the show with every electrifying note she plays. She is on a meteoric rise, frequently sharing the stage with pillars of the rock, funk, and jazz scenes. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Andy Frasco & the UN, Big Something, Cris Jacobs, Doom Flamingo, Sunsquabi, lespecial, and the Magic Beans are a few of the artists Natalie has played with recently.

Natalie’s artistry thrives in the space between vulnerability and fire. With her new full-length album, Measured in Moments, arriving October 10, 2025 the Maryland-based pianist, vocalist, and bandleader reveals her most fearless work yet. A bold, expansive statement that charts her path from quiet, ear-trained prodigy to commanding frontwoman, composer, and collaborator.

The album’s opening singles offer two distinct windows into her evolving sound. “Sometimes” featuring Cris Jacobs, released September 9, 2025 is a groove-forward meditation on life’s dualities. Led by her soulful vocals and anchored by the lyric: “sometimes change is what I am, sometimes I’m better off running.” The track builds in intensity, slipping into a jazz-soaked breakdown before she unleashes a fiery organ solo. Baltimore rock luminary Cris Jacobs answers with a spellbinding improvisation of his own, pushing the song into uncharted terrain.

“Hands” takes a decidedly different route. An urgent jazz-fusion composition that rides a staccato motif into a soaring chorus that is both sultry and celebratory, the track embodies Natalie’s invitation to the dance floor, complete with tension-building bridges and moments of release that capture her instinct for drama and motion.

For Natalie, these tracks are snapshots of a larger journey. “Pretty much always been piano,” she recalls. “I started when I was five, and just was always in lessons. I did quit lessons in middle school, which is when I picked up really learning by ear, which I think is where a lot of the creativity really started happening.” The shift from the page and toward instinct proved to be the vital catalyst cementing the foundation of her artistry.

Her evolution hasn’t been linear. Classical training gave way to a “brutal learning curve” in jazz, years of attending metal shows fed into her love of grit and volume, and eventually vocals entered the frame. “Vocals were a completely different approach. I was actually very quiet my whole life… singing has actually been a really big challenge. I finally, secretly, started going to voice lessons and not telling anybody when I was 25,” she says. What began as therapy — “being okay with being loud and being heard” — has transformed into a defining strength.

When she first stepped into the role of bandleader, six months before the pandemic, Brooke was hesitant. The forced pause became a turning point. “When I first started my band, I was still a little shy being the front woman. Then during covid was when I decided that I can get back out there, I’m gonna not hold back. I’m gonna rip it up.” That commitment shows up not just in her stage presence—often wielding a keytar bought on impulse (“I wish I had a better story… I just bought the keytar”)—but in the way she runs her band. “I really like grit, and I really like when people like to be pushed and when they like to also push me… we always want to be hurtling forward, creating something new, and not getting stagnant.”

Her debut solo EP, Wicked and Wonderful (2024), hinted at this alchemy of sounds, combining instrumentals, piano-driven experiments, and genre-bending curiosity. The forthcoming album pushes further, weaving fusion, funk, and rock energy with moments of intimate storytelling. On stage, Brooke favors high energy, while in the studio she leans into narrative and nuance. “I like to go into the studio to really tell a story and honestly get things out that I can’t get out live,” she admits. The result is a body of work that honors both sides of her identity: the explosive live performer and the reflective songwriter.

Ultimately, Natalie Brooke’s story is one of reinvention, perfecting the art of learning to be heard, to lead, and to trust the creative tension that comes with pushing boundaries. The release of Measured In Moments captures that arc in full, cementing her place as one of the most compelling new voices in modern jazz-fusion and beyond.

*Show is 21+.  Attendees under the age of 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Attendees under 21 will be subject to a $5 surcharge. The surcharge must be paid in cash at the door on the day of the event.