“Poser country.” That’s how the alt-country band Tobacco City described their sound during our conversation after their set at Culture Shock 2025. Hailing from Chicago and consisting of Chris Coleslaw on vocals and guitar, Steve Plock on the drums, Scott Quider with the pedal steel, Lexi Goddard on vocals and guitar, and Eliza Webber on bass and vocals, Tobacco City put on a remarkable show at Saturday's festival. But when they called themselves “poser country,” I paused. Without elaboration, the phrase forced me to think. Poser? In what way? Their music sounds pretty country to me, at least – however, I guess it also feels like something beyond the confines of a country definition. Lexi, Eliza, and Chris’s vocals combine in a harmonic blend that pleases the mind and soul – it’s ethereal, almost. The pedal steel provides a classic country sound, while insistent guitar rhythms on songs like “Buffalo” add a rock aspect to an otherwise traditional style. I’m going to hypothesize a little bit here about why Chris chose to add “poser” to the band’s country designation – maybe it’s because they’re from Chicago and not a traditional country scene? Or is it the singularity of their music style? I guess we may never truly know. Either way, though, the “poser country” band Tobacco City embodied the true spirit of Americana at this year's Culture Shock. Our conversation took us from stories of wild horses to Bob Dylan bandanas – the following is a window into the brilliant minds behind Tobacco City.
One fateful day a few years ago, Chris and Lexi, coworkers at a Chicago cafe, sparked the idea of then-unnamed Tobacco City at Chris’s solo show. Lexi, taken aback by Chris’s performance, thought to herself, “I gotta play with this guy. I love his songs.” And the rest is history. The band has existed in a few iterations since its genesis, but its goal has remained the same: to create music that they enjoy.
The name Tobacco City has a slightly more intriguing story, however. Lexi and Chris’s show at art haven Tusk in Chicago sat just across the street from a now-defunct cigarette-selling corner store named, comically, “Tobaco City.” Yes, with just one “c.” Looking out the window of their first-ever show, Chris mentioned that he had always wanted to name a band after that nostalgic and humorously atmospheric little establishment. So, of course, Lexi responded, “Why don’t we just name our band that?” It seemed like the obvious choice.
But then came the notorious chronicle of the Tobaco City sign. After the corner store was busted by the authorities, the 30-foot sheet metal sign was sold to a day-care, of all places. Chris, desperate for the commemorative relic, paid a whopping $100 to take it off the babysitters’ hands. But here’s the catch: A few months later, Chris’s landlord’s brother (stay with me here) threw it out. He didn’t sell, repurpose, or recycle it – he simply threw it away like junk. It was seriously a tragedy. Long live Tobaco City!
Tobacco City in the WIUX studio!
Moving onto wild sea-horses, we then discussed the band’s most recent album, "Horses," which dropped just a few weeks ago. Discussing the original thinking behind the release, Chris explained, “Well, we kind of wanted to make a fancy one. So we made this fancy record. But we recorded it in two chunks, kind of. One in 2023 and then another last year in Chicago with our buddy Nick Broste. So it was kind of two sessions, basically.” In other words, "Horses" has been a unique creation for Tobacco City – fancy, if you will. But here comes the real fun: sea-horses. When I asked about the inspiration behind the album, Chris imbued me with fascinating fast-facts about a population of wild horses that live in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. “Spanish ships would crash on their trip over and the horses would swim to the shore, and they still live there. So I went to see the horses and wrote a nine-line song about it,” Chris said. “They live on sea oats, so they’re really small because they’ve adapted to this really small, weird diet. They live in this community where people can build houses but you can’t pave anything there, so it’s a neighborhood that has sand everywhere and the horses just walk freely through it. It’s a total trip.” I was in awe. How had I never heard of this phenomenon before? And what could be better inspiration for a poser-country album created by a Chicago-based band? Sea-horses running free on the shores of North Carolina do seem like a pretty good metaphor for the whimsical and witty nature of Tobacco City, if I do say so myself.
The inspiration behind Tobacco City centers around classic folk and country stars: Neil Young, Doug Sahm, and Bob Dylan. But when Chris mentioned Bob Dylan, my ears perked up. Funny enough, I had just attended a Bob Dylan concert the night before at Purdue University (I know, I know, I’m sorry – venturing into enemy territory was worth it for Bob). We then dove into a five-minute conversation about the oddities of Bob Dylan concerts: his refusal to address the crowd, his nearly unintelligible vocals, the absence of his name on much of his merchandise, his policy against phone-usage, and the perfection of it all. It’s so on-brand for Bob. Our shared laugh about Dylan concerts highlighted Tobacco City’s amusing and kind nature – they were willing to spend their time talking with me about Bob Dylan and sea-horses, after all.
As our conversation wound down, Chris mentioned that the band is currently “working on some tunes, and there should be something cooking.” In the short-run, though, Tobacco City is planning to travel down to Georgia to perform at Dog Days Fest, with a quick stop following in Bloomington’s own The Bishop Bar on June 18th. Looking even further, Lexi mentioned that they hope to one day perform on a UK tour. The dreams and aspirations are exciting with this band. But they aren’t all for naught – with constant growth over the years, Tobacco City is definitely on the right track. I’m confident they’ll make it to the UK someday soon.
Maintaining the true spirit of Americana music, Tobacco City was a treat to host at this year’s Culture Shock. Their performance was gorgeous, rife with classic country sounds and honky tonk beats. Our discussion was a true testament to the band’s dedication to supporting local music and spreading their beautiful “poser country” sound for all to hear. In the future, be sure to listen to new Tobacco City releases. I mean, how can you pass up a band that has such love for wild sea-horses and eccentric Bob Dylan performances? The wonderful Tobacco City was the Americana soul of Culture Shock 2025.
P.S. For all readers in Bloomington, remember to go to Tobacco City’s performance at The Bishop Bar on June 18th! Bob Dylan supporters have to stick together.
