PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BAND
SINCE THEIR FIRST SHOW IN MAY, AMERICANA-BLUES-ROCK BAND LEY LINES HAS SKYROCKETED IN POPULARITY ACROSS NORTHWEST ARKANSAS, AND THEY’RE BRINGING US ALONG FOR THE RIDE. WORDS / SOPHIA ORDAZ PHOTOS / DEEPWOOD MEDIA As the country tentatively embraces looser pandemic restrictions following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, we can all think of that band or artist who welcomed us back to live music. For me, that was Ley Lines, specifically with their set at the Momentary in Bentonville in July. It was a typical Arkansas summer day, which is to say it was so humid the air felt like a wet wool blanket. Even sitting 100 or so feet away from the band, I could see sweat trailing down their faces and could count how
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many drumsticks drummer James Schlecte broke (at least four). Around me, clumsy children twirled like they were tipsy while their actually tipsy parents politely bobbed their heads (such restraint!). Containing my urge to get up and move to the music, I tapped my foot, the only thing anchoring me being the overpriced, sunset-hued margarita in my left hand and a pesky sense of social decorum, thanks to the plastic chairs provided for crowd control and social distancing purposes. (Let it be known, I will go to my grave believing that chairs have no place at rock concerts.) The art critic Walter Benjamin observed that copies of visual art, whether they be photographs or print reproductions, lack the “aura” of the original work, which he defined as “its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.” To extend his theory to music, my goodness, does live music have a somatic, even spiritual aura that is
impossible to capture in a recording. As a concert-goer, the distance between you and the music is at its closest possible, and the knowledge that what you’re experiencing is unique—particularly true of Ley Lines, who have yet to release recordings—gives you the sense that you’re witnessing something historic or holy, or both. At that concert at the Momentary, Ley Lines brought listeners into their aura, grabbing them by their collars with heavy, dirty blues rock. Ley Lines’s explosive live presence explains why word of the five-piece band has been spreading like wildfire across NWA. Though their first live show took place in late May, they’ve been asked to play nearly all of NWA’s top summer venues, including Nomad’s Trailside, Holcomb House, Prairie Street Live! and George’s Majestic Lounge—the last of which they filled to the brim, which is no small feat for a fledgling band.
