Battle Hymns

In the years since the Civil War ended, the battle of North vs. South has apparently evolved from muskets and uniforms to rock music and haircuts. This weekend’s anniversary of Quantrill’s Raid adds fuel to the fire with North Versus South, a 3-day festival of country twangers, soft singer-songwriters and pop-rock outfits from Minneapolis and Austin.

Mike McCoy, formerly of Kansas City pop-rock superstars Cher UK, organized North Versus South as a reunion of sorts. “We have a bunch of mutual friends up and down I-35, and Lawrence seemed to be a good place to meet,” McCoy says. “It just worked out that the timing was right and everyone was available.” This weekend, the Replay Lounge and the Jackpot Saloon host six bands from Austin, six from Minneapolis and a few from Lawrence, all intent on defending their respective region’s honors.

The shows run concurrently at both clubs, which are just across the street from each other, so a quick jog at the light can take you from country-blues mastery (Charlie Parr) to pop punk (the Bubble Boys), and from power psychedelia (Faux Jean) to piano rock (Mark Mallman). You can even see some genuine legends, including Hüsker Dü’s rarely live Grant Hart.

Co-organizer Baby Grant Johnson plays his traditional set of blues on Friday night. McCoy’s band, the Black Rabbits, tears up the Jackpot on Saturday night with its profound sense of weirdness. Dressed in matching outfits, black wigs and plastic bunny noses, the Black Rabbits bang out equal parts garage and new wave while delivering an important message. “It’s about making babies but being unsure about having babies,” McCoy explains. “Kind of an existential procreation kind of thing.”

Mostly, though, he prefers to wax the other bands’ cars. “They’re all great musicians and really underrepresented in the industry. But for some of them, that’s going to change, so best get them while it’s cheap.”