Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers in Concert

On Gift Horse, their second album for Vanguard and fifth studio effort overall, Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers bring the rich legacy of American rock & roll into the present tense. This is thrilling music, muscular, immediate and life-embracing, steeped in tradition but addressing the present moment boldly and eloquently.

The band features Stephen Kellogg at the helm and Kit “Goose” Karlson on keys, bass, vocals, Brian “Boots” Factor on drums, vocals, and Sam “Steamer” Getz on guitars, vocals.

By and large, the songs of Gift Horse are real-life narratives, most of them directly relating to personal experiences. “1993,” recounts Kellogg’s relationship with the childhood sweetheart who became his wife; the highway anthem “Who We Are, Who We’ll Become” is based on a piece of grandfatherly wisdom; “Watch You Grow” poignantly expresses a father’s love; “Song for Lovers” considers mortality in the context of a lifelong relationship; and “We Belong Here” is the album’s string-laden thematic centerpiece.

Gift Horse stands as an unambiguous statement of belonging and persevering during these times - the record is as straightforward, and as resonant, as that. 

There’s nothing hidden or tentative about Kellogg’s music or the values he stands for. If you’ve been itching to crank up some bracing, timeless rock & roll that speaks to these values loudly and proudly, then Gift Horse is exactly what you’ve been waiting for.

Chris Koza opens the show.