
MIDDLE AGES BREWING PRESENTS:
TopHouse w/s/g The Wolff Sisters
Sat, 7 Mar, 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM EST
Doors open
7:00 PM EST
Middle Ages Beer Hall
120 Wilkinson Street, Syracuse, NY 13204
Description
Tophouse is coming. And they’re bringing everything.
From the hopeful highs of Theory to the raw truths of Practice, this show dives deep into the tension between dreams and reality—with soaring strings, acoustic fire, and the kind of stage chemistry only lifelong friends can deliver.
Expect tight arrangements, unfiltered emotion, and a crowd that knows every word.
Event Information
Age Limit
All Ages
eTicket Delivery
Your tickets will be e-mailed closer to the event date.

Folk
TopHouse
TopHouse
Folk
Expectations versus reality. Unbridled optimism versus rugged lived experience. Theory versus
Practice.
This is the conflict at the center of Tophouse’s dueling new EPs.
Theory, released in May 2024, brims with hope, optimism, and the unshakeable knowledge that
hard circumstances and people can change for the better.
The new EP, Practice is different. While the band’s intricate arrangements and high-energy
performances carry through, the subject matter and outlook of these new songs stands in stark
contrast to the upbeat and hopeful worldview of Theory.
“We didn’t start out writing these songs with a two-part set of EPs in mind,” says lead vocalist
Joe Larson. “But when they were written and we were looking at how to arrange them on an
album, the clear delineation of themes became pretty apparent. The idealistic, hopeful worldview
that we can all strive for in Theory, up against the hard reality that life doesn’t always work out
the way we want in Practice.”
“I Don’t Wanna Move On” is a stark meditation on coming to terms with separation. The chorus
repeats, like a rosary, swelling to a frenetic burst of cathartic acoustic energy.
“Meteor”, bolstered by lush string arrangements and Western electric guitar, is about crashing
and burning from self-sabotage. The Western elements in this song, themselves a rarer color
palette for Tophouse, are contrasted by a vaguely sci-fi string track.
On “Waste”, the band confronts the consequences and loneliness of living with past mistakes.
The song’s vivid imagery places the listener in a frigid, stark, and lonely moment asking the
haunting question – is every experience worth having, or are some experiences worth never
having at all?
Tophouse, comprised of Larson (lead vocals, guitar, banjo), Jesse Davis (guitar, mandolin,
percussion, backing vocals), William Cook (violin, backing vocals), and Andy LaFave (piano,
backing vocals), formed in 2016 in Missoula, Montana, where Cook and Davis met in the music
program at the University of Montana. They began as a street performing duo, honing their craft
performing instrumental originals on the streets (and empty parking garages) of Missoula. Cook
soon brought Larson, a longtime friend, into the fold and the trio began recording original songs
and performing up and down the stunningly beautiful Bitterroot Valley.
In late 2019, the boys were faced with a hard choice: keep growing their personal and
professional lives in Missoula and leave music as just a hobby or leave their beloved home state
and move across the country to Nashville and devote themselves to music. They chose the latter.
“It was sort of always the plan to move to Music City” says Larson, “I think it was a combination
of naiveté́ and the desire to make the whole music thing a concrete part of our lives.”
Within a few months of moving to the Southeast, the world ground to a halt due to the Covid-19
pandemic. Stuck in an unfamiliar city with nowhere to go, the trio hunkered down and honed
their craft. As the world began to cautiously open back up, the band reemerged with new music
and a new member: Lafave, an old friend of the boys from back home, rounding out the sound
with piano.
In the spring of 2022, Tophouse began posting videos of their performances on social media.
Much to their surprise, within weeks their posts began getting traction and the views continued to
multiply as their online following expanded quickly and consistently. Wasting no time, the boys
sought to move this connection with new fans from the screen to real life. The started booking
shows themselves and began touring as much as possible wherever possible. They played any
stage, backyard, bar, brewery or living room that would have them between Nashville and
Montana. Somehow, word spread and people kept showing up, sometimes driving hours to attend
these tiny shows. It was truly amazing and the four band-members took none of it for granted.
The growing audience only made them work harder on both on their live experience and
cultivating a community with their fans.
It wasn’t long after when Tophouse found a likeminded manager and booking agent who shared
their vision and work ethic. Soon the rooms and crowds grew larger and larger. Even their
Instagram is nearing 300,000 followers. Within two years, Tophouse went from playing to
anyone who would listen to selling out shows across the entirety of the United States.
So, what is a Tophouse show like? One of the defining characteristics of a Tophouse show is the
contrast between their tight, energetic performances and their warm and witty stage banter in
between songs. Cook might recite a passage from a beloved book to background
accompaniment. Davis might begin an impromptu Q & A with the audience. It’s the comfort and
chemistry of four people who have known each other for a very long time and are perfectly OK
with just being themselves. Who they are onstage is exactly who they are offstage.
Of all the things that have come together for these four homegrown Montana boys, what rises
above it all are the fans. The connection forged between Tophouse and their fans is genuine and
infectious. This is apparent when you hear their passionate audiences enthusiastically belting out
the choruses and singing the verses at every show. Or, when you see the fan art shared online or
in-person or hear the emotional stories of how Tophouse’s songs have become the soundtrack to
their loves, losses, triumphs and tragedies.
“It really is the best part,” Larson says; “getting to hear how our little songs can be used in so
many different ways. It’s very encouraging.”
Four old friends from Montana sharing their music with new friends everywhere. That’s
Tophouse, and they’re just getting started.

Americana
The Wolff Sisters
The Wolff Sisters
Americana
The Wolff Sisters is fronted by three sisters -- Rebecca on acoustic guitar, Kat on the keys, Rachael on electric guitar, and all three on lead vocals and harmonies. Raised on Bob Dylan, The Band, and Little Feat, the sisters crafted their sound around a honky tonk piano in the living room of their childhood home. With a talented cast of rotating drummers and bass players, The Wolff Sisters are a rag tag group of hardworking individuals that bring a big sound and timeless songs. Their music is honest and genre defying, but still rooted in traditional rock and Americana storytelling.