Show Review: Pigeon Pit, Propolis, & Porch Cat at The Vera Project on 7/19/26

“We’re in it for the long haul so do shit today to make tomorrow and all the other days in your life better!” - Lomes Oleander of Pigeon Pit

After an exciting UK and Ireland tour, Olympia folk punk band Pigeon Pit has quickly jumped back in the van for a West Coast and Southwest US tour in support of their new album Leash Aggression, which came out in November 2025.

Pigeon Pit’s second stop on this tour was The Vera Project, an all-ages music venue here in Seattle, WA. They were accompanied by supporting act Propolis from Michigan, and opener Porch Cat, local Tri-Cities folk punk darlings.

All three bands brought a nostalgic twang, knack for storytelling, and raw human experience to the stage. This show could easily have been packed since Pigeon Pit has taken off in popularity after appearing on NPR’s Tiny Desk in 2022, but instead was just the right amount of cozy, possibly in part due to a date mix-up on the poster. The crowd was diverse in age, which is one of the beauties of all-ages venues and a testament to folk punk not being a “phase” (See, mom?). But by far the best part was that the fans who showed up were loving and supportive, calling for encores from all three of the bands, holding hands while they danced, and making sure that those using wheelchairs could get to the front of the stage and also be included in the mosh pit. This is the kind of community I want to see more of in the Seattle scene!

Speaking of access and Disability Justice, the first band of the night, Porch Cat, has long been vocal about Disability Justice at their shows. Their music often explores the feelings behind being chronically ill and/or disabled (something that will happen to all of us at some point), which is very meaningful to me as a fellow chronically ill musician. Porch Cat’s music has a persistent hope that doesn’t shy away from the hard parts of being alive, of living “under the thumb of an oppressive government,” and of having a “broken body;” their songs encourage the listener to grieve and also stoke the flames of resistance inside of them at the same time!

Band members Emily Awen and Chan Benicki embody their politics every Porch Cat show by refusing to become invisible like many disabled people are when they’re forced to stay at home because of accessibility barriers. I hold that this is meaningful to me and also a totally unfair burden to put on those whose “existence is resistance” and therefore can’t opt out. That’s why we need Disability Justice allies working behind the scenes at shows! If you want to learn more, I recommend Porch Cat’s February 2026 interview on the “Back on the Grind” podcast where they talk about their experiences with disability and accessibility as musicians in the folk punk scene. This is a great interview to listen to for anyone who has no idea what “access needs” might mean, especially if you book shows or work at a venue.

Another cool thing about Porch Cat’s music is their instrumentation; on their 2026 album, Broken Body, Chan plays the musical saw, banjolele, glockenspiel, and guitar while Emily plays guitar, banjolele, upright bass, washboard pan, and drums. Porch Cat is just two people, but you’d never know it listening to their albums due to the instrumentation (and because of the sheer amount of songs they breathe into this world)! In their live sets, they perform with a more intimate setup, Emily on guitar and Chan on the musical saw. Chan and Emily’s voices soar above the music and blend beautifully together, easily moving the audience to sing along. And if you like what you hear, many of Porch Cat’s songs on Bandcamp include the lyrics and the chords so you can play them too! No musical saw required (but a very rad option to have).

The next act, Propolis, had an immersive atmosphere about their set that made you feel dropped into a movie scene set in an abundant field and/or someone’s family member’s dated living room in the Midwest. They spent little time between songs, but the stories in the songs spoke for themselves and kept the audience swaying and engaged the whole time. Like Pigeon Pit, their music also features a fiddle, which is a treat! My favorite tracks off their most recent album are “Pale Shade of Red” and “Redwing Blackbird,” but really the whole album could be listened to on repeat while you stare wistfully out a train window or hike a mountain to get away from your problems. I hope they share their lyrics on Bandcamp in the future because I’m sure they’re a great read. As an up-and-coming band, and the one from furthest away, I know the least about them, but they do appear to be touring with a new bassist and drummer, so welcome Selah and Oak!

Finally on this night came Pigeon Pit. In the first song, Josh, the bassist, broke a string and kept it so cool and lighthearted that most of the audience probably didn’t even notice. It then became a running bit for the rest of the show as Josh borrowed different basses from other musicians and the venue. In the middle of the set, we got a pared-down version of a couple of songs, one with Lomes on guitar and Eva on fiddle and a couple more with just Lomes before we jumped back into the full band experience to end the night with energy (and energy we had!). Everyone’s favorite Pigeon Pit song is “nights like these,” but folks were singing along to newer songs too, prompting a genuine smile from songwriter Lomes. As a musician, I know how good it feels when the audience knows the lyrics and sings them back to you!

One thing that you get with live music that a recording can’t beat is the stories behind the songs. Lomes shared with us tales of living in Wallingford in a basement apartment next to an underground river that would flood her favorite belongings, but was worth it for the $400 rent.

Then she took us (narratively) from Wallingford, Seattle to Cherry Street in Olympia. While she tuned her guitar, she asked, “Who here has drank a beer on the rainbow bridge? Who here has gotten blacked out in a black house?” Naturally, only about half of the audience cheered because the other half isn’t old enough to drink (or they just haven’t spent much time in Olympia), but I appreciated it as someone who could answer yes to both questions. In “cherry,” she asked another important question, “Who can you really trust that isn't 86'd from Ralph’s?”

Lomes shared not just stories between songs, but also messages of hope and calls to action. Just as the description of Leash Aggression says on Bandcamp, Lomes proposes “love for humanity, rather than fear of certain futures, as a political motivator” and “hope as an invitation to act in the face of bleakness, instead of something made impossible by it.” And those ideas reverberated through what she shared on stage. In summary, we could all benefit from getting more involved in community, and we should do it selfishly because our liberation is tied up with one another's- that’s the “mutual” in mutual aid, baby! (my words). “Nihilism can be a helpful tool, but we’re in it for the long haul so do shit today to make tomorrow and all the other days in your life better.” (her words… at least to the best of my memory and notetaking ability).

After the comment about nihilism, Lomes shared that she wrote the song “wichitalk” (from her 2015 album shut in) in high school, and I loved that she’s still playing it many years later, honoring her younger self and growing, changing, and sharing what she’s learning with the next generation. She’s clearly always been a great storyteller, and I’m glad that she’s still telling stories for us to sing along to.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope that you find some time to listen to Pigeon Pit, Propolis, and Porch Cat, maybe even catch them on tour, or grab some merch! All three bands have really gorgeous merch.

Stay Cunning and Full of Tricks,
Bryer Valentine
DJ Rabscuttle of the Autonomous Warren