Photo by Esther Kohlmetz
Lights on. Amplifiers plugged in. Energy high. And a one, a two, a one two three…
Bandits on the Run, an acoustic indie pop band, filled the Dingeldine Music Center on Saturday night with their voices and melodic crescendos. This was the second concert in the Doris Kolb Women in Music series, and the last concert for Bandits on the Run’s Midwest tour.
“I’ve been trying to coerce Bandits on the Run to come to Peoria for four years,” Bradley University alumnus Jerry Kolb said.
Kicking off the event with rock and rasp, opening band Patty PerShayla & The Mayhaps set an electric atmosphere from the beginning.
Bandits on the Run took the stage soon after their openers and played their first song, “Now Is The Time.” With a mix of cello, acoustic guitar, accordion and tambourine in the melody, the sound of swing and sway immediately captivated the audience.
The band originally started by busking in the New York City subway. According to guitarist Adrian Enscoe, they’ve been “writing from a very authentic place” since then as their tours have led them across the world.
These authentic songs included “She’s The Queen,” which cellist Sydney Shepherd wrote for the birthday of the third band member, Regina Strayhorn. Bandits on the Run played the rest of the tracks from their newest EP “Now Is The Time,” as well as their newest release, “You Have Changed.”
“I didn’t expect to like the music as much as I did,” sophomore nursing major Katlyn Schillinger said.
Schillinger also noted that her favorite song from the setlist performed at the concert was “Paris.”
The bond between the band members shone as they ran the audience up and down passionate scales and let listeners in on the joy of their music.
Building into multiple harmonies in what Enscoe described as an “incredible acoustic room,” Bandits on the Run had the audience enthralled.
For their final song, the band members unplugged their instruments to walk down the aisles for an up-close and personal experience with their music. The crowd stood for the final round of applause as the last echoes of folk faded.
