Ha Ha Tonka rose from Springfield, Missouri's Ozark muck, but Kansas City has seemingly been something of a second home for the band. Drummer Lennon Bone’s startup label, Sharp County Records, and most of the acts on it, are based in or around Kansas City. And Ha Ha Tonka plays to sizable crowds around town on a regular basis. The band’s latest, Death of a Decade, out on Bloodshot Records, is a collection of roots-rock with a pop sheen — the aural equivalent of a brand-new Ford F-150. Tommy and the High Pilots, also playing, share with Ha Ha Tonka an affinity for Mellencampisms but drive a little faster, like the Gaslight Anthem but without all the tattoos.
— David Hudnall
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