Tilly and the Wall

Not many bands have to make their set list based on breaks for their tap dancer, but indie pop group Tilly and the Wall does. “We don’t want her to get too tired,” laughs vocalist/percussionist Neely Jenkins. “She gets really worn out by the end of the night, so we give her a rest and use recorded beats on some songs.” The “her” Jenkins is referring to is Jamie Williams, Tilly’s resident tap dancer, who replaces traditional drums on many of the group’s songs.

The rest of the group usually includes Derek Pressnall (vocals, guitar), Nick White (keyboard) and Kianna Alarid (vocals, percussion, recorder and bass), but this time Tilly is bringing friend Mason Brown along. “The new record [Bottoms of Barrels] is so much more full,” says Jenkins. “There’s a lot of bass, a lot of extra guitar partsÉand we thought it would be good if we brought Mason out; he could kind of fill out the live performance as well.”

Tilly got its name from the title of a children’s book, and there’s certainly an aspect of kid-like fun to everything they do. Expect a lighthearted party, with great, if somewhat silly, music.