Matt Tiegler ‘Hands Free Down Hill’ Record Release

Tickets: $12 (standing) to $22 (tables)

Chicago songwriter, actor and playwright Matt Tiegler returns to the studio after a long hiatus from recording. Hands Free Down Hill, Tiegler’s third studio recording, takes a more guitar-driven, power pop approach than his lushly produced last record Gods & Heroes (produced by Ralph Covert and released via Waterdog Records) which was filled with jazz, orchestral and world music instrumentation.

Hands Free Down Hill is produced by Evanston songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tommi Zender and recorded and mixed by John Abbey at Kingsize Sound Lab in Chicago. In addition to producing, Zender brings a variety of guitars, percussion, keys and voice to the album, much recorded in his own studio. The studio band features veteran singer- songwriters Steve Dawson (Dolly Varden) and Gerald Dowd (Frisbie, Robbie Fulks), as well as Lawrence Brown and Max Crawford (Poi Dog Pondering).

Tommi Zender is a multi-instrumentalist from Evanston, IL who works and plays regularly in the Chicago/Midwest area. Zender wears many musical hats: Singer/Songwriter, Guitarist, Drummer/Percussionist, Producer/Arranger, Ambient Soundscape Improviser, Teacher/Coach, Collaborator, Accompanist, Studio Gun-for-hire, Musical Director, Transcriber, and, of course, the most important hat: music fan. He currently teaches adult classes at Old Town School of Folk Music and he has coached music privately in Evanston since 1996. He released his last full album “More Songs About Time” in 2019, and a new maxi-single “Let’s Get Lost” in 2022. All his records are available on Bandcamp.