The Western Mystics

On November 11, 2015, The Western Mystics made their first appearance as a duo-baritone guitar trio (with Brent Joel on drums, Nik Kososik on lead baritone and Travis X. Abbott on rhythm baritone) by opening up for the mighty Elder at Neurolux, which would become known as their home venue in many ways. A bootleg recording of this show was released as “Once Upon a Time in the Cosmos”. Shortly after this initial appearance, the mystics added Riley Johnson on keys/vocals and made what many consider to be their true debut at Treefort Music Fest (also at Neurolux) in March of 2016. The band released a recording of this performance as “The Last Western (Live at Treefort 2016)”, which was well-received by listeners. In the words of J.J. Koczan of The Obelisk: “...lush and psychedelic in some places, showcasing encouraging depth of ambiance in quiet stretches with vocals as much as keys and/or baritone guitars, and taking off on flights of classically-styled progressive rock. In short, this is a band capturing the process of finding their sound on stage, live, as it happened.” After their Treefort performance, fellow psych-rockers WEEED invited the mystics to join them on tour for a few dates in Portland and Eugene, Oregon - with both performances being well-received. With this, The Western Mystics established themselves as a band that exists purely within the moment - creating music that embraces the concepts of impermanence and willingness to evolve. The Western Mystics refuse to classify themselves as anything other than human beings conversing with their instruments. The Western Mystics: Wanderers of the Cosmos https://soundcloud.com/thewesternmystics