Live at City Winery The Empty Pockets

About the performance

The Empty Pockets joined Marc Cohn as the very special guest opening act.

The Empty Pockets are Josh Solomon, Erika Brett, Danny Rosenthal and Nate Bellon

The Empty Pockets’ often cerebral and sometimes playful indie rock sound is built upon a strong foundation of the timeless Americana, Blues, and Motown Soul that came before them. An old-school sensibility showcased by multiple lead singers, rich harmonies, and skilled instrumentalists sets “bandmates Josh Solomon, Erika Brett, Nate Bellon and Danny Rosenthal, members of polished yet rootsy Chicago outfit Empty Pockets” apart (Rolling Stone).

Their journey began with the late, great Buddy Holly. Childhood friends, Solomon (guitar) and Rosenthal (drums), started a band by joining forces with Bellon (bass). Soon after recording an original demo as “Josh & The Empty Pockets,” the new group was featured in a Chicago theatrical production of The Buddy Holly Story, performing as Buddy Holly & The Crickets six nights a week. There they met singer Brett (keys), who enlisted as the final band member. With more than one distinct vocalist now delighting their audiences, the band officially became, simply, “The Empty Pockets.”

Ever since, they’ve been embracing collaboration. Just as The Band famously came into their own behind various frontmen, The Empty Pockets have found comparable footing teaming up with a wide range of legendary artists; Kenny Loggins, Simon Kirke (Bad Company/Free), Al Stewart (“Year of the Cat”), Gary Wright (“Dreamweaver”), and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield/Poco). Their sound has evolved, influenced not only by these remarkable musicians, but also through collaboration with independent artists and, most importantly, among themselves. Through The Empty Pockets’ adventures, Solomon and Brett fell deeply in love and united their worlds as husband and wife. Since then, the band built a recording studio and continues to tour incessantly in pursuit of spreading joy through their music.

“When The Empty Pockets play, they don’t just go through the motions of belting out tunes and revving their guitars to impress you – their performances are offset with a vibrancy and a sort of energetic showmanship so that space and distance don’t matter in the end – rather it’s more of which of their carefully crafted songs will strike a chord within you first”