American Aquarium
https://www.americanaquarium.com/
American Aquarium have spent nearly two decades chasing that rare form of rock-and-roll that is both revelatory and raw. Led by frontman BJ Barham, the North Carolina-bred band delivers a sound that’s equal parts gritty country-rock and heart-on-sleeve songwriting. “The sweet spot,” Barham says, “is when you’ve got a rock band that makes you scream along to every word, and it’s not until you’re coming down at 3 a.m. that you realize those words are saying something real about your life.”
Their new album, The Fear of Standing Still, embodies that dynamic with more intensity than ever before. Recorded live at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and produced by Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker), the band’s tenth studio LP channels explosive riffs and hard-charging rhythms into Barham’s most incisive writing yet. Mixed by four-time Grammy winner Trina Shoemaker, the record is both anthemic and unflinchingly honest—a reflection on growing older, sobriety, family, and the social landscapes of the American South.
American Aquarium’s lineup—Shane Boeker (guitar), Neil Jones (pedal steel), Rhett Huffman (keys), Ryan Van Fleet (drums), and Alden Hedges (bass)—plays with freight-train intensity. Songs like “Crier” disrupt toxic masculinity with ferocious rock energy, while “Southern Roots” (featuring Katie Pruitt) meditates on reshaping Southern identity. Elsewhere, “Babies Having Babies” doubles as a poignant pro-choice anthem, “Cherokee Purples” is a nostalgic ode to summer youth, and “The Curse of Growing Old” faces mortality with devastating tenderness.
Throughout The Fear of Standing Still, Barham peels away new layers of vulnerability, informed by ten years of sobriety and a deep connection with fans. “Whenever someone tells me that one of our songs helped them in some way, it encourages me to be more open,” he says. “All I want to do is put words to the emotions most people can’t express—and when an audience sings those words together, that’s when the music becomes bigger than all of us.”
From the Jason Isbell-produced Burn.Flicker.Die to 2022’s Chicamacomico, American Aquarium has steadily built a reputation as one of the most fearless, uncompromising voices in Americana and alt-country. With The Fear of Standing Still, they’ve created not just an album, but a rallying cry—proof that rock-and-roll still has the power to shake your soul.
Upcoming Concerts at Dosey Doe
No upcoming concerts scheduled for American Aquarium. Check back for more live music events in The Woodlands at Dosey Doe!
Past Concerts
- Sunday, May 05, 2019