Them Coulee Boys spent the past decade-plus establishing themselves as one of the Midwest’s premier purveyors of bluegrass and Americana. The Cedar is thrilled to welcome the Eau Claire-based band to our stage for the first time.

“A rollicking blend of bluegrass, folk, and rock and roll” – Folk Alley

Soren Staff and Beau Janke—co-founders of folk/rock/Americana outfit Them Coulee Boys—met as camp counselors in northern Wisconsin in 2011. Their weekend workshopping of Avett Brothers and classic country tunes led to original songs and adding Soren’s brother Jens on mandolin, Neil Krause on electric bass and Stas Hable on drums.

The band’s name is a nod to the glacial melt-carved river valleys they call home, known by early French fur trappers as coulees. Known for wild swings of emotion during sets, it is not unusual to see fans in tears and minutes later dancing with abandon. The honesty and ability to talk and sing about the feelings and emotions that shape them has endeared them to a growing group of fans and friends.

Kiernan is the Minneapolis-based musical project of Laura Kiernan, who is very excited to be playing with a band. Her indie folk tunes can be described as “sounds for when you’re feeding the pigeons.” In other words: soft, silly, spacious and best done with friends. She is joined by Nate LeBrun (Humbird, Squinny) on drums, Maddie Thies (anni xo, Sister Species) on bass, and Jared Johnson on guitar. The band released its first full length album in 2025, after being named one of the Best New Bands by First Avenue that year. They’re excited to release more this year – they hope it nourishes your ears like a nice hunk of bread.