The Cactus Blossoms / Jenna Nicholls

Name: The Cactus Blossoms / Jenna Nicholls
Start: 2025-10-04T19:00:00-04:00
Location: The Red Room at Cafe 939

Schedule

Sat, 04 Oct, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

The Red Room at Cafe 939 | Boston, MA

At its best, harmony duo singing can transform simple math into a magic trick. One plus one, instead of equaling two, suddenly yields an unexpected third thing—an uppercase ONE. A universal hum. A deep vibration that encompasses two different points of view.
On their latest release, Every Time I Think About You, brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum—a.k.a. the Cactus Blossoms—once again prove themselves to be among the most adept and distinctive modern practitioners of that magic. But like any great magician, the Cactus Blossoms can’t—or won’t—fully explain the illusion they create.
“Harmonies are a big part of our sound, but in some ways they’re the part we focus on the least,” says Burkum. “We put most of our attention and energy into the songs themselves, and then the harmonies just happen.”
There’s all kinds of magic happening on Every Time I Think About You—a record that sounds more like a band than any other in the Cactus Blossoms's discography, thanks to contributions from Jeremy Hanson (drums), Jacob Hanson (guitar), and Phillip Hicks (bass). “There She Goes” casts its romantic regret against a danceable bop beat, while the title track is a heart-wrencher about loss and letting go.
“Even if you don’t set out to write songs with a theme in mind, it seems like one usually presents itself,” says Torrey. “This record keeps returning to the idea of moving on—from one place to another, from people and situations that bring you down, from loss and grief.”
Hailing from the small town of Irwin, PA near Pittsburgh, after college Jenna Nicholls(Opens in a new window) set her sights east to test her wings as a songwriter and performer. Initially trying Boston, she ultimately gravitated to the creative hotbed of Manhattan’s Lower East Side forging lasting friendships with other like-minded artists and musicians.
Nicholls made three albums on her own dime: Curled Up Toes in Red Mary Janes, The Blooming Hour, and Radio Parade. The albums revealed a restless muse and a theme that would be a constant for Nicholls: a love of vintage music – anything from classic music films like “Singin’ in the Rain” to Bessie Smith.
Her latest album, The Commuter communicates the excitement of venturing forth and the reassurance of returning home to an abiding love, something she’ll be doing a lot of as she hits the road in support of the album. It also announces the arrival of an important American songwriter and singer.