Two unique acts, UK singer-songwriter, Anja McCloskey and Iowa indie folk-pop duo, Har-di-Har team up for a free show at the Side Door Lounge (3530 Leavenworth St) on December 14.  

Half-American, half-German and raised in Northern Germany, Anja McCloskey grew up listening to her grandfather playing the accordion, picking up the instrument herself at the age of 5.  With influences including Abigail Washburn, Rufus Wainwright and Sharon Van Etten, Anja is already a relative veteran of the music scene, having gained a raft of experience playing with avant-garde performance orchestra The Irrepressibles and folk-rock trailblazers Haunted Stereo.

Har-di-Har, a multi-instrumentalist, trans-genre acoustic duo, consists of life-long performers and partners Julie and Andrew Thoreen. With eyes closed, you would think they were a trio.  Functioning each as rhythm players (guitar, bass keyboard and drums), the pair doubles on both lead and harmonic vocals, and supplements the sound with a variety of tastefully peculiar orchestrations. Andrew handles bass drum, trombone, and guitar/bass, while Julie covers snare, toms, cymbals, and keyboards. The result is a familial, yet strangely enchanting, heart-strung wonderment that seems a portrait (as much as an expression) of the obviously-compassionate pair.

Show start time is 8pm with support from Mitch Gettman (Omaha), Bolzen Beer Band (Lincoln) and On Approach (Lincoln).  FREE 21+entry