Before folk and bluegrass became a vigorously polished commodity with acts like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers rising to take over the world, these were genres of lowly real people. These were songs of the masses, honest to a fault, and raggedly charming. Ex-Cowboy is a band that lets these tattered edges not only show, but shine. An errant discordant twang from a guitar string here, a missed beat there, a cracked voice on a high note - these imperfections add up to create something immeasurably more affecting than any plastic honky tonk Mumford & Sons could drum up. Influences from the likes of Sufjan Stevens and DeVotchKa make their presence known in the music of Ex-Cowboy, without detracting from the humble purity of the band.

EX-COWBOY, w/ Joe Capoccia, 10 p.m., Le Voyeur, 404 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, no cover, 360.943.5710

See Also

Calendar: Arts and Entertainment

Calendar: Music and Nightlife