Talks & Entertainment

This event will take place in our Downstairs venue with mostly standing room. For those who require seating, please call 202.408.3100 in advance.

Bombadil, the whimsical, chamber-pop-folk band from North Carolina, returns to our Downstairs stage in support of the June 21 vinyl and re-release of Tarpits and Canyonlands. The highly-praised album that carries its own sad, strange and triumphant story is about to get a second chance at being heard.

Bombadil’s 2014 dates are a personal celebration for the band, comprised of James Phillips (drums), Stuart Robinson (piano, ukulele) and Daniel Michalak (bass, piano, harmonica), and the re-release of Tarpits and Canyonlands is a big part of that. Just prior to the original CD release, everything fell apart.  Michalak, considered Bombadil’s main driving force, was diagnosed with neural tension, an ailment that caused such debilitating pain and incapacitation, he couldn’t brush his teeth, much less play any musical instruments.  Literally on the eve of Tarpits’ release, unable to support the album by touring, Bombadil came to a complete standstill that lasted for three years.

Michalak spent years doing everything he could to get better. Fast-forward to 2012—Bombadil launched a U.S. tour and has kept a manageable touring schedule since, with Michalak, who is on the road, playing shows and doing great.

Now, seven years after its original release, Tarpits and Canyonlands is being given a second chance to live up to its expectations.  Bombadil is on the road for the bulk of 2014, so they’ll be able to give this magical album the support it initially deserved, and people will have the opportunity to hear what one writer called “a breakthrough and breakaway from a band whose ideas, enthusiasm, abilities and emotions have finally found their nexus.”