In a few weeks, Durand Jones & The Indications will take the stage at San Jose Civic, with country roots singer-songwriter Theo Lawrence opening. The date lands amid the band’s ongoing celebrated Flowers Tour, supporting their fourth album, Flowers, released last summer via Dead Oceans. The record weaves the group’s now signature soul output—gospel touches with the familiarity of lowrider oldies, slight disco pulses, lush strings—into widely accessible songs of courtship and quiet longing.
The trio came together in Bloomington, Indiana, around 2012, when Durand Jones arrived at Indiana University as a recruit studying classical saxophone. When the university’s Soul Revue group was in need of a vocalist, he innocently stepped in.
Some of the most important advancements in art are happy accidents, and this appears to be no different. As writer Brandon Roos so wisely wrote in a 2019 feature on the band’s ascendant: “The origin story for modern soul heavyweights Durand Jones & the Indications emerged out of what can be considered divine timing.”
As such, the group’s genesis took shape when guitarist Blake Rhein, then a recording engineer for the ensemble’s rehearsals, invited Jones over to dig through vinyl records. A fleeting invitation that set forth a decade of musical collaboration.
Rhein remembers how things developed: “On the first record… we did the whole thing in Aaron’s basement, working with a very limited set of resources, which definitely gave that record a distinct sound.”
These meetups organically evolved into weekly basement jams at drummer Aaron Frazer’s place. With very minimal personnel, they cut their self-titled debut in 2016 on a four-track tape machine. Colemine Records, an Ohio label known for its modern soul projects, released the album. Word soon snowballed through independent record shops and the band’s relentless live gigs.
By 2019’s release, American Love Call, their sound had expanded with lush strings, harp, and richer textures, while preserving the analog grit of the first record. Jones recalled the vocal shift, with sound engineers repeatedly noting that his delivery had “too much velocity.” Initially discouraged, he found inspiration in Irma Thomas, the legendary “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” whose voice projects undeniable range. “I took the challenge,” Jones said.
That versatility—restraint one moment, robustness the next—became an artistic hallmark he actively chased.
The band clearly also resonates with California’s Latine communities, slotting naturally into lowrider playlists alongside legends like Brenton Wood, Barbara Mason, or Sunny & the Sunliners. The affinity started organically among collectors and fans, then deepened through years of the group’s touring. They released a B-side in 2019, “Cruisin’ to the Park,” whose video prominently featured old school lowriders. Furthering the musical conversation with their fans, they enlisted former tourmate, Y La Bamba, to record a Spanish rendition, “Cruisin’ to the Parque.”
Says Jones: “When we play out in the Bay Area, it’s beautiful to see families spanning multiple generations in the audience enjoying the music. It goes to show just how universal soul music is, and seeing that really brings the band up a notch. It lets us know we’re doing something right.”
Aaron Frazer (the band’s secret weapon with a glowing solo career of his own at this point) once pointed to Penny & the Quarters’ unearthed 2010 masterpiece “You and Me” (which the band later famously covered) as their catalogue’s north star; the essence of vulnerability through unpretentious songwriting.
Said Frazer in 2019: “What struck me most was how plain and beautiful the recording was. It’s clear it was all done through a single microphone, with the amp somewhere towards the back of the room, the backup singers closer up, and Penny Sharpe right in front. It’s our entire approach to making soul music. I’m a sucker for unadorned but powerful love songs.”
Durand Jones & the Indications’ overall philosophy—minimal setups, tasteful nods to predecessors, earnest vibes, quiet confidence—threads through their catalog. Expect the Civic to fill with that same uncomplicated energy. A true treat for the area, despite the presence of celebrated artists who may at times occupy larger stages.
*Durand Jones & The Indications’ Flowers Tour with Theo Lawrence arrives at the San Jose Civic on Friday, March 20 at 8pm.
