Pokey LaFarge and his band recently transported the audience at The Atlantis to the past, taking them for an enchanted riverboat ride down the Mississippi with his eclectic style drawn from a diverse range of American musical traditions.

A native of Bloomington in central Illinois, Pokey’s music combines old-school rock, swinging blues, and Americana into something unique and powerful. Over the last 20 years, he’s gone from being an independent artist self-releasing his first albums (which are not available on streaming services) to being signed to the prestigious New West label.

At one point in the show on Oct. 27, Pokey joked, “We don’t have any hits, so we can play anything we want.” But he did put out a new album this year, Rhumba Country, and the set included a handful of songs from that record. Pokey and his band played “For A Night,” “Run Run Run,” and “It’s Not Over,” and they finished their main set with a shout-out to his home state, “So Long Chicago.” (He also called out to his roots with “Central Time.”)

Watch the official lyric video for “So Long Chicago” by Pokey LaFarge on YouTube:

The bulk of the songs came from LaFarge’s extensive back catalog; as he noted, he’s been around a while. He got things started with “Fine To Me,” followed by “Get It ‘Fore It’s Gone,” a song that could describe sharing a meal with me. After “For A Night,” he kept things going with “Goodbye, Barcelona,” and “End of My Rope” paired nicely with “Killing Time.” The latter part of the set included the catchy “The Devil Ain’t Lazy,” “What The Rain Will Bring,” and “Mr. Nobody.”

Pokey came back alone to start his encore with the traditional gospel number “Ain’t No Grave,” which he dedicated to “The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost.” His band joined him and they played “La La Blues” and “Something In The Water,” then sent the audience home with “Goodbye, Goodnight.”

The Tailspins, a duo from Salt Lake City, opened the show with a terrific set of songs that, like Pokey’s, harkened back to an earlier era of rock ‘n roll. “The Shivering Swing,” they said, is “about goblins and ghouls.” They followed that with “Hep Cats,” a song they haven’t recorded yet, followed by “The Flood” and “We’re Not Alone.” They got the audience to sing along with the chorus to “Hey, Woah,” then finished their set with “Snake Eyes Johnny” and “You’ll Make It By.”

This was my second time seeing Pokey live, but it was my first time seeing him with a full band. The fuller sound really added a new dimension, showing just how wide-ranging his influences are, but it also rocked hard. His music is as American as apple pie, and just as tasty.

Here are some photos of Pokey LaFarge performing at The Atlantis on Oct. 27, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.