True/False Film Fest cues up live soundtrack for 2022 festival

Within the best films, moving visuals and music fit together like hand in glove. You leave the experience unable to imagine one without the other.

It's the same with great film festivals. Columbia's True/False Film Fest, set for March 3-6, amplifies quality music through the presence of buskers who warm up crowds before screenings and dedicated showcases.

One of the industry's leading nonfiction festivals, True/False announced its 2022 musical roster Thursday and the talent stretches across genres, from electronic music to indie rock, hip-hop to Americana, with thoughtfully shaped instrumental music thrown in for very good measure.

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Among the most exciting names playing this year's fest is Chicago native Angel Bat Dawid, a singer and instrumentalist who lives along the avant-garde and spiritual edges of modern jazz.

Also coming to True/False from the Windy City are Spencer and Sammy Tweedy. The sons of Wilco leader — and one of Columbia's favorite visitors — Jeff Tweedy have followed in their old man's footsteps, creating thoughtful, often minimalist rock 'n' roll. Chicago-based artists Liam Kazar and Case Oats have worked with the Tweedy family on various projects, and will also visit the festival.

Dubbed a "polymath" by True/False, Thor Harris' experiences include a stint in the revered heavy band Swans and gigs alongside indie icons Devendra Banhart and Bill Callahan. Texas duo Little Mazarn will feature guest spots from Harris; they make music Harris himself described as "a cool float a few feet from the ground through a dimly lit, almost familiar forest. It is quieter than silence, big as everything, still but always moving."

Also among the approximately 30 artists on approach: composer and pedal-steel guitarist Susan Alcorn, who owns a rich history in country, jazz, classical and folk music; Canadian band Living Hour, which plays within a dreamy, lo-fi style; and innovators like Baltimore's Alex Silva, Chicago's Esoe and Ohio's Titonton, whose presence will satisfy electronic-music fans across various sonic camps.

Who are some of the local artists playing this year's fest?

True/False aims to do right by local talent and has programmed a number of mid-Missouri mainstays. Noah Earle and Rae Fitzgerald bring different approaches to the role of singer-songwriter and are among the region's all-time greats; Earle long ago mastered a thoughtful, more orthodox folk style a la Paul Simon, while Fitzgerald has bent indie-folk origins into something roomier and deeply cathartic.

The ever-impressive Travis McFarlane will make the Missouri Theatre's organ sing and swell.

Sibling trio Drona will play the festival, "fusing their love of genres as different as bedroom pop and black metal into mathy musical structures while leaving room for the rule-breaking openness of jazz," according to the festival website.

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Another of mid-Missouri's rising stars, Kyren Penrose offers a spacious yet gritty take on folk and country.

Columbia ex-pats and veterans of once-beloved bands will also play prominent roles. Recent Roots N Blues performer Sifa delivers a 21st-century sort of soul music. Indie-rocker Lucas Oswald brings sensitive and significant songcraft to this year's fest. And former Loose Loose bandmates Jacob Somerscales and Zach Zito will perform together again as a duo.

Other Missouri acts scheduled to appear include St. Louis artists Blvck Spvde, Tristano and Tiny Daniel.

Learn more about this year's True/False, including the forthcoming concert schedule, at https://truefalse.org/.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at [email protected] or by calling 573-815-1731.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: True/False cues up live soundtrack for 2022 festival