Article by Ashley Wiser and Erin Marshall
Photos by John Miller

Last Friday, September 21, at the Java House, a small band from Chicago celebrated their fifth anniversary with a decent crowd of music-lovers and coffee-drinkers. The notorious Java House brings in bands every Friday at 2 p.m. for your free consumption! The company is friendly, the atmosphere relaxed, and the shows are usually acoustic, allowing a great opportunity to enjoy the lyrics.

The lucky band last week: The Future Laureates, consisting of four members playing the bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and ukulele. Throw in an occasional harmonica and it created a mixture of folk, pop rock, and indie. Similar to the sounds of Los Lonely Boys, Jack Johnson, and Sugar Ray, The Future Laureates might be most memorable for their vocal harmonies and quirky lyrics. Recently, they came out with their third album, Fortress Sessions, and played multiple tracks from it including “For Debbie,” “Witchcraft and Imagery,” and “Convert Them in Convertibles,” a song about the giant Jesus statue on I-75. The Future Laureates also beautifully covered Amos Lee’s “Arms of a Woman”.

The band was very friendly with the audience, encouraging them to clap and sing along, as well as poking fun at each other in between songs. They divulged a bit of how they met at Loyola University in Chicago five years ago and have been a band ever since.

Matthew Daigler (vocals/ukulele) even contributed a little information on his past: “I started playing the ukulele before it was cool,” he confessed. For the past few years, The Future Laureates have been touring different parts of the country almost every weekend. This past year, they attended the South by Southwest Music Festival, and they hope to play at a variety of festivals in the future.

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