Jason Evans Groth

VHS Tour Diary 1: Philadelphia, PA, 4/8-4/9, 2026, featuring “medleys” from rehearsal and our show at @johnnybrendas all shot by @ocular_dreams @jdthorud @tget32 The full Magnolia band has never lived in the same city. We got close for most of the band’s existence and really all only lived in the same place when we were called Songs: Ohia. That was nine months in Bloomington, IN, from November 2022-August 2023. Then @mikeslomobrenner started touring with us (Philly), then Molina moved to Indianapolis, then back to Chicago, then to London. Rehearsals were rarely very long and they never, until the last two years touring with Molina, came with a list of what we might play at the shows. That might explain why we’ve been doing a lot of homework before we get together for shows now. It’s a really good thing to just get into it, to be ready for the big practice days that are usually compressed into no more than ten hours. For this tour we had 32 songs ready to go for the shows. What you see in this video is us rehearsing at @goatmotherindustrial ‘s house both on April 8th (re-learning “Lonesome Valley”) and 9th (relearning “Talk to Me Devil, Again”), and then some out-of-time (or maybe any time between 1979 and now) looking footage of us playing at Johnny Brenda’s. We all grew up watching VHS tapes of our favorite bands and this makes me feel like I’m watching someone else play. It’s pretty humbling to hear people screaming along to “farewell transmission” and pretty exciting to feel the straight rock and roll energy from the band, somehow transmitted more acutely through obsolete media. What an incredible thing it is to play Jason’s and our songs again. There are still shirts and posters from the April shows at the link in our bio. Tickets are still available for our August Midwest run at the following places - we’d love to sing along with you at all of them: Thursday, August 27th - Bloomington, IN @thebluebirdbar Friday, August 28th - Chicago, IL @lh_schubas Saturday, August 29th - Louisville, KY @whirlingtiger Sunday, August 30th - Cleveland, OH @beachlandcle

No Limit on the Words 046 is an interview with Jason Evans Groth (@groakus ), guitarist of Magnolia Electric Co, a band that has been at the top of my listening habits for over two decades running. Between 2003 and 2009, MECo was the main outlet for prolific songwriter Jason Molina (@jasonamolina ), who sadly passed away in 2013. His songs hit like no other; everyone who heard them felt an inexplicable connection with his words, his voice, and his melodies. Groth and the other members of Magnolia added their own touches to the songs, building, shaping, and arranging them into the ones that showed up on some of Molina’s finest albums. And that’s what Groth and I talked in great detail about—writing, recording and creating these wonderful tunes. We also spoke about the current Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co (@magnoliaandjohnsonelectricco ) band which sees Will Johnson (@willjohnsontx ) joining the other MECo members to celebrate Molina’s output (by the way, they will be playing a handful of shows in the Northeast in April—see you in Amherst, MA). Jason’s answers to my questions were so thoughtful and heartfelt, and he really gave a glimpse into the side of Magnolia Electric Co’s songwriting that I don’t think we’ve seen before. Follow the link in the bio. Also, I’ll just say that this is one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done. And since I own just about everything from the greater Molina catalogue, I’ve included photos of a few of the more special Magnolia items in my collection. The setlist is from the Songs: Molina memorial show in Brooklyn 6/23/17. #jasonmolina #magnoliaelectricco #songsohia #magnoliaandjohnsonelectricco #secretlycanadian

Corrected: #magnoliajohnsonelectricco + #mjlenderman live at the Grey Eagle in Asheville on 12/12/2025. “The Dark Don’t Hide It” 🎥 - @j0nandrewsontour #holyshit #worldscollide #jasonmolina #ashevillemusicscene

We are so excited to announce four more shows, happening in April, 2026, in the Northeast. Tickets are on sale now! And there are still tickets remaining for two of our three Southeast shows, coming up in just a few weeks. We’d be honored to see you there. We’re so grateful to the folks who came out to see us in Texas, and who have been listening to the “Wooden Heart/Twenty Cycles to the Ground” single via @keeledscales Playing together again has been so joyful and meaningful. Celebrating Molina, remembering him through the music we made with him, telling stories, hearing stories, seeing old friends, making new ones - it’s emotional, occasionally overwhelming, and always a gift. Thanks for being a part of it, and for loving these songs as much as we do. DECEMBER 2025 SOUTHEAST TOUR: 12/11 - Charlottesville, VA - @southerncville 12/12 - Asheville, NC - @thegreyeagle 12/13 - Carrboro, NC - @catscradlenc Back Room [SOLD OUT] JUST ANNOUNCED - APRIL 2026 NORTHEAST TOUR: 4/9 - Philadelphia, PA - @johnnybrendas 4/10 - Washington, DC - @blackcatdc 4/11 - Amherst, MA - @thedrakeamherst 4/12 - Brooklyn, NY - @babysallright Video by Josh Thorud @jdthorud @ocular_dreams Footage shot by Josh Thorud and Tim Getting @tget32 Photographs, including in the poster design, by Alex Jackson @onejug Poster design by @goatmotherindustrial “Wooden Heart/Twenty Cycles to the Ground” out now via @keeledscales

I am so grateful for these best friends who have, since 2003, stopped at this Texas staple every time we’ve passed it for prune kolaches. Jason Molina should be in this picture, too, since he was the one that brought us here in the first place. I guess in all sorts of ways he is. I’m especially grateful for that. @willjohnsontx should be in the picture, also, as we’re on night four of one of the most joyful and emotional musical experiences I’ve ever had, the Texas Magnolia and Johnson Electric Co tour. Given the very we jam econo vibe of Magnolia we’re in separate vehicles on this tour - I think Will was just a few miles down the road, driving 90 to get to the show just because we can’t wait to play. Last show is tonight in Houston. Being with these guys and Will has been so wonderful. Really glad we get to do it again in December. So glad JMo brought us all together. I miss him. We all do.

Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. release two more songs today. Listen to “Wooden Heart” and “Twenty Cycles to the Ground” in full band form recorded by @willjohnsontx and the remaining members of Magnolia Electric Co., reimagined from their Molina and Johnson origins. You can watch a full video of “Wooden Heart” with footage from their Texas tour kick-off last night in Austin. Sept. 19 San Antonio, TX - The Lonesome Rose Sept. 20 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves Sept. 21 Houston, TX - Continental Club Dec 11 Charlottesville, VA - The Southern  Dec 12 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle Dec 13 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle Directed & edited by @jdthorud Cameras by Josh Thorud & @tget32

Residents of VA and NC are in luck! Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. have added three shows in December. Tickets are on sale now! Dec 11 Charlottesville, VA - The Southern  Dec 12 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle Dec 13 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle Their Sept. 18 Austin show has an official 🚨 low ticket warning 🚨 and tickets are moving quickly for the rest of their Texas dates.

Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. share their recording of “The Big Beast” today and announce a seven-inch record and Texas tour for September.

So excited to announce that Magnolia and Johnson Electric Co - a project between our dear friend @willjohnsontx and us that has been in the works for more than a decade - is now out in the world. We recorded with Will in Austin at @ramblecreek this March, and you can hear one of the songs today - “The Big Beast,” a Molina tune that we only ever played live when we were Songs: Ohia, and which only ever came out as a live recording on Trials and Errors. The other two songs are new recordings, full band style, of songs that Will and Jason made for their collaborative record, Molina and Johnson, coming out on a 7” in September on @keeledscales with amazing art by the incredibly talented and adored friend of Molina and the band, @williamschaff All of this is in memorial to Jason, and all of it feels very nice to share. I hope you like the recordings. It was a moving and gratifying experience to make them. We’re also touring in September, all in Texas, which is Will’s state and was one of Jason’s favorites. It’s also where they recorded Molina and Johnson. It just felt like the right place. Tickets out now for the following places: 09-18 - Austin, TX - 29th Street Ballroom 09-19 - San Antonio, TX - Lonesome Rose 09-20 - Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves 09-21 - Houston, TX - Continental Club The single is streaming everywhere and on bandcamp, and you can pre-order shirts there, too, made by @goatmotherindustrial . So many thanks to @willjohnsontx who is incredible and who I feel so grateful to play music with. Thanks to @keeledscales for putting out the record, @ramblecreek for making it with us, Erik Carter for booking the tour, @jasonamolina for all their work honoring Jason and our music, @secretlycanadian for their endless support, @coxcomb.red for her endless support and friendship, and Jason Molina for bringing us Magnolia guys all together and being our friend and mentor and bandmate and a singular songwriter who inspires us still. We miss him and honor him. We loved playing music with Jason, and we love that we still get a chance to play music together and that Will is involved. What an honor.

The Coke Dares play in Charlottesville, VA on Sunday the 20th at @infiniterepeatsworldwide !! The last time we played in Charlottesville was three weeks before the pandemic in February of 2020 and the guitar player in the band we played with joined via Zoom. How prescient! Excited to be back and to rock with @mrchilps ‘s new band Performance Review. And it’s at 6pm!

@thecokedares go out on the weekend to play @pilotlightknox on Saturday the 19th with good friends. This month marks the 23rd year of @goatmotherindustrial and @peaceshrine and I being grateful that we didn’t learn a bunch of Steve Miller covers like we were supposed to before our first practice but instead started this band.

RIP Steve Albini. Working with Steve was so rewarding. By the time Magnolia got to Josephine - my third time working with him - the relationship was all inspiration. Steve’s kindness, Steve’s insight, Steve’s knowledge, Steve’s efficiency, Steve’s presence, Steve’s understanding - all of it was inspiration. I know I can speak for Molina, myself, and probably all of my Magnolia band mates when I say that I wanted to do as good a job as I could when Steve was there. In this picture (a still from the @pumapro documentary Recording Josephine) Steve is smiling about a sax solo I just played. I can’t believe I made Steve Albini smile with an alto sax solo. That night Steve took me to play poker with some of his friends, and in the car ride he told me how inspired he was by our band, how he admired how much we all listened to one another, how we grew together, and how grateful he was to work with us. All inspiration, and all shared. Steve and his partner Heather were both supporters of us and of so many folks who I feel grateful to know. When Molina died their support meant - and continues to mean - the world. I loved Steve and learned so much from him, and I will miss him. I’m so, so grateful that he put so much of himself into so many beautiful and meaningful and important things and that we get to hear those things forever. And I will be forever inspired by him and grateful for the work I got to do with him.