LOCAL SPACES & SOUNDS. It's about time you meet Midwalk, one of Eau Claire's newest bands, made up of five locals who each share connections in the town's arts and music scenes. Its current lineup – from left to right – consists of Dan Turner, Evan Stewart, Abbie Williams, Matthew Mabis and Ben Whitis.

Whether you’ve seen them on Eau Claire stages at The Mousetrap Tavern, The Stones Throw, LIVE at LEONA’s, or maybe through YouTube, the presence of Midwalk continues to grow across the Chippewa Valley.

This emerging ensemble brings a dreamy, lounge-inspired sound which has gradually permeated the local music psyche over the last year. Its lineup consists of Matthew Mabis (keys, guitar, vocals), Abbie Williams (vocals, synth), Ben Whitis (guitar, vocals), Evan Stewart (drums) and Dan Turner (bass, synth, vocals). 

Midwalk became a natural product of the many “Venn diagrams” of Eau Claire – a city where one person inevitably knows another through a series of friendships, workplace connections and ongoing jam sessions.

The band, which for many will be their first project, also stems from shared desires to explore different sides of each member's own sonic journeys. For most of them, the gift of music was discovered through the ranks of high school pep bands or within underground, bass-heavy punk groups.

Mabis, who to locals may recognize from his role in Pit Wagon (guitar, banjo), gives credit to the Valley's creative orbit for bringing the current members – who he describes as "Eau Claire's best-kept-secret" – of Midwalk together.

Together, they each invite a departure from the folk and Americana-driven landscapes which have defined select areas of the Valley’s musical identity.

“It’s really been an exercise of not trying to bludgeon the listener with story. Our songs are kind of clipped images that make a total collage.”

Matthew mabis

keys and guitar player for midwalk

“(Midwalk is) pretty much smacked dab in the middle of all of our favorite genres,” Stewart noted.

“Our influences are pretty eclectic,” Whitis added. “There’s a little bit of a Boards of Canada, Megafaun, Beach House, Gorillaz ... so many other bands. Many of our songs oscillate between hope and despair for the future.”

For the past year, the group has gathered on Wednesday nights in Whitis’ home studio. As each occupies their individual role in the band, Midwalk members have cultivated a balanced atmosphere of focused diligence and what they describe as a safe and lighthearted haven.

“We also have a saying that nothing is sacred,” Williams added. “Nothing set in stone; even after we go in the studio and record them, those songs might change later.”

“Whatever serves the song,” Williams continued.

These weekly studio jams eventually led to a recording session alongside Brian Joseph in Hive studio of Eau Claire earlier this spring.

Whitis, Joseph and others brought that very same hunger – to reframe Midwalk’s previous efforts and approach the creative process with fresh eyes – even if it meant deconstructing melodic foundations they had spent months cultivating for the stage.

“(Stones Throw) was a bucket list venue because I used to go there in college and see so many good shows there,” Stewart said. “Actually getting to play on that stage – sitting next to the stained glass windows – was so cool.”

“That was extremely liberating,” Mabis said. “A lot of really fun stuff came out of those sessions. ... It definitely reached some musical heights that I was not anticipating.”

While the spoils of those sessions are likely to be seen online and out in the world via streaming later this year, area residents have witnessed this blend of the abstract and the disciplined unfold live upon the familiar stages of downtown Eau Claire.

For Mabis, Williams and Stewart, these beloved local hubs and new communal spaces require rhythmic flexibility, as the band pivots their intensity to mirror the energy of each room and its patrons.

Within the group’s current catalog – with tracks like “Erosion,” “Velvet Curtain” and “I Feel Love” – Midwalk avoids imposing a singular narrative upon its audience, opting instead for an “impression of ideas” on emotional vulnerability amidst today’s modern calamities.

“It’s really been an exercise of not trying to bludgeon the listener with story,” Mabis said of Midwalk’s songwriting, which each member contributes to. “(Our songs are) kind of clipped images that make a total collage.”

“What's most exciting about playing with this group is that everyone is really hungry to improve” Mabis continued.

Locals will soon have the chance to see Midwalk on stage again at the familiar Mousetrap Tavern this November with Fawn Haus, another local band the group has performed with once before at Stones Throw.

Until then, Midwalk will continue to permeate the Valley’s music scene with unhurried movement – a nod to the foundations of its namesake, 'mittwoch,' the German word for Wednesday – as they cherish the community’s support of their new sounds.

Keep up with new announcements from Midwalk, online through social media (@_midwalk_). Listen to live recordings from the band’s previous shows in Eau Claire, online via YouTube.