Clementine Was Right is the songwriting project of poet and fiction writer Mike Young. Chronicling years of travels and uprootings, the music revs and spikes and sways through hook-smeared bootgaze and cosmic scoot, harmonizing and storytelling.
After releasing three books of poems and stories in the early 2010s (with praise from VICE, BOMB, The Believer, and others), Mike moved to New Mexico in 2016 and started this project with fifteen years of songs and a talented crew of fellow wanderers. In February 2020, these songs came together as their first LP: Lightning & Regret.
Adobe & Teardrops said: “exquisite storytelling … one of those albums that helps you expand on how you perceive the world, be more observant, and take note of things you might’ve passed by.”
The album was also featured on Gimme Country, AltCountry.NL, Deeper Roots Radio, Puttin' on Airs in Memphis, and elsewhere. And the band has shared bills with Pearl Charles, Dave Dondero, Sadie Dupuis (of Speedy Ortiz), Nat Baldwin (of Dirty Projectors), and many others.
In September 2021, Clementine Was Right recorded their second LP, Can't Get Right With the Darkness, at Memphis Magnetic in Memphis, TN with Scott McEwen (Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, Hank Williams III, Rosie Flores). Gathering a large cast of collaborators from Arkansas to Asheville to Hawaii, the new record is both grizzlier and more anthemic, weeping and laughing while the fire jumps the river.
Thanks to national touring and a collaborative online presence, Clementine Was Right is building a dedicated community of listeners all over (60k Spotify streams, 1100 Spotify followers, 16k TikTok followers), heartbroken mutts swaying and singing along to stories about the fire of forgiveness, driving a Volvo to the doughnut store, garbage bag curtains, and distances you never learn to trust.
The California Poppies, Arcata's own paisley powered pop stars, set to open the show. Doors @ 8pm. 21+