Florencia and Donnie invite you to the 'Family Reunion'

At the end of the last century (the 1990s), there was one place everyone wanted to play in Johnson City - The Casbah. The Casbah sat in the rear of the Italian Pizza Pub and had the best sound, the best crowds and the best staff in town. Burt Kordamiri had built it from the early days of The Pub Outback, before renaming it The Casbah and hiring Danny Street to create the sound and system that made the small room rock. There were always great local and touring bands who stopped in on their way through the region - Disturbed, Southern Culture on the Skids, Colonel Bruce Hampton, Corey Glover, Hootie and the Blowfish and more national acts graced the stage and the place was always packed. When the 2000's rolled around, though, The Casbah went through some renovations and, over time, stepped away from weekly live music. It changed hands for a while before returning to Burt and it reverted to the original venue name - The Pub Outback. If you'd like to get an idea of what it was like in its glory days, this Saturday would be a great chance to do so - The Pub Outback is set for a great night of entertainment as Florencia and the Feeling welcome their good friends Donnie and the Dry Heavers for a "Family Reunion." I caught up with Florencia (Flori) Rusinol and Chance Lawson of the Dry Heavers to ask a few questions about this weekend's show. Flori, you're calling the show this weekend a family reunion - why? "We are all based in the Tri-Cities, but we play far from home so much throughout the year that when we play a hometown show and all our friends, family, and hometown fans come out, it really feels like a Family Reunion. We get to see people who have supported us from the very earliest days of Florencia & the Feeling, back in 2021! I get emotional just thinking about it. We also had our release party for our latest album, Couch Hangin', one year ago this exact weekend at this exact venue. We packed out the pizza pub with hometown folks who are so special to us, so coming together again the same day & place feels like a reunion, and we hope it'll be the start of many reunions to come." Chance, how did Donnie and the Dry Heavers get involved with the "family reunion", and what can people expect from the show this weekend? "Man, we love playing together and it's been some time since we've gotten together to cut loose, so I'd say you're very likely gonna get predominately bangers out of this set!" Flori, you mentioned your album Couch Hangin' - how have things gone since the release? "Things are going well! We had a great year where we played over 35 shows all over the Southeast, and several of our favorite festivals. We also hit a milestone for us which was opening for a band MUCH bigger than us. We opened for the Wombats, a well-known UK band, where we shared the music of our new album and got the party started at some bucket-list venues, like The Orange Peel in Asheville and The Fillmore in Charlotte. Couch Hangin' has been received beautifully. I still can't get over the feeling of being in, let's say, Greensboro, and looking out to see people singing along to our songs. And if you haven't heard Couch Hangin' yet, it's soul-pop album with jazz & R&B undertones, and the music is a reflection of how we've grown as a band and as people–as literal as being thirty-somethings who'd rather stay in than go out on a Friday night, and as metaphorical as learning to take up space in the world instead of trying to fit into it." Where can people find Couch Hangin' and how can they pick up a physical copy or download? "The record is out on all streaming platforms, like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc, and you can download it on iTunes, Bandcamp or our website. You can also pick up a physical copy at our show this Saturday or on our website!" Chance, how are things with the Dry Heavers - anything on the horizon? What about your solo work? "We've been juggling the balance of art and life lately. We've got some cool things churning right now, but they're not quite ready to talk over yet. The new solo album is closing in on finished. I've been recording it in Nashville. I just dropped the first studio single from these sessions ('Ups and Downs'). I know what you're thinkin' - this feller's got 4 versions of the same song on the internet' - and yes, yes I do." Any news we should know about The Feeling? "Well, we have been working hard on a new batch of songs already! We have four that we've almost finished recording and four that are well underway of becoming the next batch. We are debuting a few songs at the show this weekend, too!" Why did you choose the Pub Outback for this show, Flori? "For many reasons, but it's the perfect space to have the show our way. There's plenty of room to dance, great food, and we get to play the show at a reasonable hour for a bunch of 30-year-olds (haha). It's also a great location filled with Johnson City history and we wanted to honor that." Doors open at 6 pm Saturday and the show starts at 7 pm with Donnie & the Dry Heavers kicking it off. Come early if you want to grab a pizza, and it's all ages, so it should be fun for the whole family.