Concert recap: Water Liars at the Ogden

Every Thursday evening, the Ogden invites the public to enjoy a live musical performance and interview with a musical historian, while enjoying the current museum exhibitions, in the Ogden After Hours concert series. Typically, the series features local musicians; however, national acts from out of town frequent the lineup every now and then — as was the case with this past Thursday’s concert, with a performance from Mississippi-based band Water Liars, best described as a rugged alternative country act.(Though the three-man act was formed in and is now based in Mississippi, two of its three members hail from other Southern states — Justin Kinkel-Schuster from Arkansas and GR Robinson from Tennessee; Andrew Bryant hails from Mississippi.)

In the mid 2000’s bandmates Justin Kinkel-Schuster (vocalist, guitarist) and Andrew Bryant (drummer, background vocalist) met by chance in Mississippi; after discovering their shared love of Southern literature and lyrics, Water Liars was born in to existence. Following Water Liars release of two albums, bassist GR Robinson joined the duo, working with them on their third, self-titled album, Water Liars, released in 2014. Robinson stuck around following the album’s release and has been touring with the band ever since.

The stripped down set was also split into two segments with an interview with the bandmates between them. The band used their second set to focus on new tracks that will likely end up on a future album. The intimate quality of the band’s sound — which was heavily influenced by Kinkel-Schuster’s raw, honest and soulful vocals — was accentuated by the fact that they did not perform on a stage, but rather, on the same level as the audience. View an extended gallery here.