Describing its music as psychedelic rock and soul, Tree No Leaves founder, vocalist and keyboard player Dustin Galish has seen the band through various members and changes since 2008. The band formed in Bowling Green, Ohio and the Toledo area.
The group has recorded around 14 albums, done concert films and even created a graphic novel with songs associated with it during idle days of the pandemic.
Doing a lot of shows regionally and in Michigan, Galish and the band found their way to Springfield through Rod Hatfield, co-owner of The Market Bar, who set them up with a monthly residency at the venue. Galish found it the right fit.
“I’m attracted to areas that are hidden gems and Springfield is like that. There’s an appreciation for live music, and there’s a lot of great old architecture and our connection to Rod,” he said.
Galish is particularly excited about the chance to perform outdoors and in, a chance for audiences to experience the band on different energy wavelengths. Attend one and it won’t necessarily be like the other.
“Indoors, volume is a big thing for us and we’ve learned to read a room and can play the same song in a different way depending on the room,” Galish said. “It’s much more freeing outdoors. Every night is different – the tempo, the volume. We let it happen organically.”
The band finds COHatch a cool venue with a lot of originality for a smaller space, and also have another new favorite in Mother Stewart’s, with its big, open stage, where they played for the first time recently. High energy is a key in both.
Combining everything from psychedelic music, elements of soul, Detroit-influenced funk, some rock and country, Tree No Leaves brings a melting pot of music to its original tunes with some influences of African, Cuban and Brazilian music sprinkled in.
The band has an unusual approach in that it doesn’t have a guitarist. They also vary from a trio with percussion, bass and keyboards/synthesizer to adding a sax player to complete a quartet. Local audiences will get all four on Friday and the trio on Saturday.
They also mix in an eclectic group of cover tunes ranging from Peter Gabriel, Radiohead and Talking Heads to Gnarls Barkley and Billie Eilish.
With around 60 shows this year, Tree No Leaves is grateful for its Springfield fan base and ready for a memorable weekend.
“These shows are the capper for us and we want to send off our audiences here,” Galish said.
For more information on Tree No Leaves, go to facebook.com/treenoleaves.
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