Musicians visit Bloomington on Midwest tour 10.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. While a group of older men drank Hairy Bears and draft beers at the front bar, three musical acts filled the back room of Bears Place with original tunes Tuesday night on the last leg of a short Midwest tour. John Davey, Kalispell, and Bro. Stephen travelled from different regions for the show, each bringing with them a unique sound. Despite their differences in sound and style, all three played a set that had the small audience swaying, nodding their heads, and singing along when the tunes became familiar. I was very pleased with how tonight went, said John Davey, after the show. A musician from Lafayette, Davey has been touring and playing music full-time for the past five years and opened the show with guitar in hand. Davey, who says he writes best in his parents kitchen, played a set of songs with a variety of themes. Some of the songs are stories pulled from Irish folklore, others more recent autobiographical tunes about love, writing, and playing in towns that no one has heard of. His intricate, wordy, original songs were sung much to the delight of the audience. Hes a beautiful lyricist, Maggie Mathew says. A long-time friend of Davey, she drove from Lafayette to see the show and show her support. Its cool to see what hes been up to through his songs. The second actKalispellis the indie-folk project of Shane Leonard, currently including his girlfriend of three years, violinist and part-time social worker, Jessi McIntosh. Leonard, armed on-stage with a banjo, guitar, and a slew of poetic lyrics, has been pursuing music since beginning drum lessons at age five. Kalispell is really Shane and whoever he can get to play with him, says McIntosh, with a smile. She herself has been playing violin since the age of five, and holds her own on-stage with a violin and vocal harmonies. As Leonards girlfriend, she may have a slight bias as to his work, but expressed genuine appreciation for all of the artists. Theyre all incredible songwriterssome of the best Ive ever heard. Bro. Stephenknown in the real world as Scott Kirkpatrickfinished the nights show. Standing in black Nikes with a baseball cap on his head, his appearance belies a soothing voice, quiet humor, and the sophisticated taste of a wine expert.

According to his blog, when hes not writing songs, Kirkpatrick fills his time with wine stuff, recently passing the Level One Sommelier Exam. At the quietest moments of his folky, indie-gospel set, radio pop could be heard through the doorway leading to the main Bears Place bar. If it bothered any of the audience, though, they didnt let on, listening quietly to the musician on-stage. Friends and family from the audience stuck around long after the sound technician turned off the stage lights, talking and laughing with the musicians. Each of the artists plan to continue to play shows around the Midwest, but their current tours will not include another show in Bloomington.