Will Varley W/ Beans on Toast

The Read

Varley and Beans on Toast come out of the UK festival circuit, where the job is holding a tent full of distracted people with one guitar and a lot of nerve. The result is a style of folk that is conversational, political, frequently very funny, and built around delivery as much as melody. Neither of them is precious about the form. The Basement is a low-ceilinged room under a building on Eighth Avenue, about as small as ticketed shows get in this city, and it is the correct venue for performers who work by talking directly to people. A seven o’clock start on a Friday makes this an early-evening option rather than a whole night. Expect heckling, and expect it to be handled well.

The Room

The Basement

1604 8th Ave S

The smaller, original Basement — a low-ceiling room under what used to be Grimey's on 8th Avenue, where songwriter, roots, and rock bills feel thirty feet from the stage.