Gig Preview: Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage with The Grasping Straws
Sunday 6th September – The Marrs Bar, Worcester
A true cult hero of the international indie‑folk underground heads to Worcester as Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage headline The Marrs Bar on Sunday 6th September, joined by special guests The Grasping Straws for a night of surreal storytelling, scuzzy art‑rock and gloriously off‑kilter brilliance.
Jeffrey Lewis has spent more than two decades carving out one of the most distinctive voices in modern songwriting. A New York native, comic‑book artist and fiercely DIY musician, he began releasing homemade cassettes in the late 90s before signing to Rough Trade in 2001.
Since then, his dense, funny, philosophical and deeply human songs have earned praise from Rolling Stone, Regina Spektor and David Berman, and taken him around the world as a touring cult favourite.
His sound, a ragged, urban blend of indie‑rock, folk, punk spirit and hand‑drawn visual art, feels like a 21st‑century collision of Sonic Youth, Pete Seeger and R. Crumb. Over the years, Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage have opened for icons including The Mountain Goats, Daniel Johnston, Dinosaur Jr, The Fall, Pulp, Roky Erickson and The Vaselines, building a reputation for shows that are part gig, part storytelling session, part comic‑book theatre.
Their most recent album, The EVEN MORE Freewheelin’ Jeffrey Lewis, arrived in March 2025, recorded in Nashville with Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Lou Reed). Between 2019’s Bad Wiring and the new record, Lewis self‑released five DIY albums from his apartment, a testament to his relentless creativity and refusal to sit still.
On stage, the current Voltage lineup features Mallory Feuer (violin, keys), Kait Pelkey (bass) and Brent Cole of The Moldy Peaches (drums), bringing a scrappy, electric energy to Lewis’ whirlwind lyricism.
Opening the night are The Grasping Straws, a psychedelic art‑rock band from NYC whose grungy, jazz‑infused abstractions swing between a scream and a whisper. Formed by Mallory Feuer in 2012, the band channels antifolk roots and basement‑show chaos into something raw, controlled and ever‑surprising. Their live sets feel like emotional excavation: darkwave textures, jagged guitars and shifting moods that pull you in and keep you guessing.
A Sunday night of strange brilliance, sharp wit and beautifully messy indie‑folk‑art‑rock from two acts who thrive on unpredictability and heart. If you love live music that feels alive, human and wonderfully odd, this rare Worcester show is unmissable.