For many local bands, playing the Pageant is part of a St. Louis bucket list. Emerging showcases like the Homegrown series provide artists the opportunity to shine at that exceptional venue without being in the shadows of more nationally established acts. Tonight, Bo and the Locomotive, Blood Pony, and The Dive Poets will fill the Pageant with thoughtful pop, orchestral folk rock, and alt-country, respectively.

As a precursor to what is sure to be a memorable evening for each band, Jess and Annie gathered members from each group at one of our favorite neighborhood pubs to hang out and discuss their current projects and playing the Pageant.

Fresh off the release of their full length album, Escapists, Blood Pony singer, guitarist, and songwriter Jim Walker isn’t showing signs of letting up. Animated, passionate, and positive both on stage and off, he spoke humbly about the success of his band’s recent release show at Off Broadway, reiterating how impressed he’s been both with BP’s long time fans and newer supporters. Playing the Pageant will mean that  the group has more than ample space to assemble their mini-army of instruments and create for us their unique brand of pulsing, dark-not-dreary folk music.

Bo and the Locomotive is poised and ready to make a name for themselves. Bo Bulawsky let his current musical project lie relatively dormant, at least from a playing out standpoint, as he finished an audio engineering degree at Webster University. His training and his patience make listening to the band’s Golden Arms EP especially rewarding. It’s now available for streaming on Bandcamp and set to be released soon.

Bo plans to use this spring and summer to embark on an ambitious tour schedule, attempting to hit both coasts in addition to the middle of the country. He believes that taking his act on the road is the quickest way to have his songs heard by a wider audience. And might we say, his brand of indie rock is infectious. The lyrics on the track, “Harder With Time” echo, literally on the recording, and also in the head of the listener.

Speaking of touring, country rock outfit The Dive Poets had a great idea this winter. “Let’s go on the road, and take one of our favorite song-playin’ St. Louisans with us.” That favorite musician is Beth Bombara, and in June, the two bands will trek south together to play their complementary styles of music to rooms full of adoring future fans. A tour of this undertaking is new for the current composition of both groups. Since the DPs are gaining notoriety in their home city, they think that taking their music on the road will be both a challenge and an opportunity for growth.

Join us this evening at the Pageant. 8pm. Free with printed ticket or ticket image on a mobile device. $5 if you’re not old enough to drink.

More shots from our time with the guys at Riley’s. All images by Annie McCance.