The Namby Pamby, an all-female indie rock trio, performed at 10:30 p.m., March 1, at The Bishop Bar along with Cal in Red and Milkwood.
The Fort Wayne-based band played hits from their latest album, “Marketplace” and surprised the crowd with a psychedelic cover of the popular song, “Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bexter.
The band consists of sisters McKenna and Emily Parks, vocalist and guitarist respectively, along with Payton Knerr on drums. They have played shows in Bloomington including last year’s WIUX Culture Shock Festival and released their debut album in November 2022 and toured around the Midwest.
“We did about twelve days on the road, and that was super fun to get out and play in other cities and share the love with everybody and our story and our music.” McKenna said.
Payton said one of the biggest changes in the last year had been the response from fans.
“Homies that listen to you and sing the words with you — it's a different experience than ‘oh I like this one,’” Knerr said. “To be able to have people know the songs is cool.”
One such fan is Austen Eicher from Greenwood, Indiana, who is a musician himself and went to The Bishop to see them perform again.
“We opened up for them one time and they're lovely people,” he said. “They're awesome.”
He is a member of the band Too Many Cooks and sang The Namby Pamby’s praises.
“They get you in the groove. They're so tight as a band. They're mesmerizing,” Eicher said. “I could just sit there lay in bed listen to them and close my eyes, it makes me feel good.”
Returning to Bloomington, McKenna said she loved coming back to play, and commented on the unique and thriving music hub the city has become.
“The more we've gotten to play here, it's become way more than just a college town,” she said. “There is such a culture in Bloomington that’s really cool, and now we love playing Bloomington a lot.”
Emily and Knerr agreed that one of the best aspects of the Bloomington music scene was how welcoming other bands were and how much of a tight-knit community there was.
“My biggest takeaway is that all of the bands that we’ve played with that are based in Bloomington are just so kind, and you do not see that everywhere,” Emily said. “We just want to keep coming back because we consider these people our friends now.”
Knerr shared that the band has been able to step into a music community that has helped them grow, and that they consider Bloomington a second home base.
“It's so fun playing here in the little community that we've not only been able to dip our toes in but build with our music and play here so frequently,” Knerr said. “People are just so accepting, and the other bands and artists are really cool, and just take you in.”
After the success of “Marketplace,” McKenna said she hoped for a new 12-track album release by the end of this year.
Following The Namby Pamby were Cal in Red, performing a set of dreamy indie pop. The duo is led by brothers Connor and Kendall Wright, who began their musical collaboration in early 2018. Cal in Red has released two EPs, and the band is expecting a national tour this spring.
Closing out the night was Milkwood, a new duo formed by Cai Caudill and Jack Andrews. Caudill released an eight-song LP in January titled, “Sun Tired,” as well as an EP of three live recordings from a show at The Blockhouse Bar in Bloomington. Andrews has released eight singles under the name Daguerreotype.
The Namby Pamby kicked off a night of groovy indie rock from local artists with an upbeat crowd that served as a reminder of the community that Bloomington has built for new and emerging musicians.
