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Setting — the trio of multi-instrumentalists and esteemed collaborative artists Nathan Bowles, Jaime Fennelly & Joe Westerlund — have shared Gum Bump, a new single taken from their forthcoming self-titled album and Thrill Jockey debut, out April 24th.
The track highlights the trio’s evolving approach. Its syncopated grooves dance across the stereo spectrum in oozing fits before synthesisers erupt into heaps of magma, the ensemble crafting what can only be described as their own dynamic funk — smouldering and patient, urgent and emotive all at once. When reviewing their live album at Public Records, KLOF Mag’s Glenn Kimpton described the trio’s delivery as “one hell of a listening experience,” and Gum Bump suggests the studio has only deepened that charge.
The album is the product of long exploratory sessions in which the three players developed their own syntax and an ability to shift in new directions with finer-grained detail — electric spontaneity becoming a framework for more elaborate, impactful compositions. “This is one of the most joyous albums I’ve made with other musicians,” says Fennelly. “It felt like we were all in the slipstream.” Bowles is equally effusive: “Making this is maybe the easiest thing in my life; it’s not struggle music. This collaboration feels like it’s just coming out of the air, like it’s breathing.” Westerlund points to the cumulative power of sustained collaboration: “When you keep playing together show after show, things take a different shape. The elements can be subtler and more specific, and there are more references of past performances and past discoveries to draw from.”
Setting will bring that shared understanding to a string of festivals and select shows across North America throughout 2026, including sets at Big Ears Festival this month, Nelsonville Music Fest, Suoni Per Il Popolo, Solid Sound, and Pickathon.
Setting tour dates
Mar. 2 – Durham, NC – Shadowbox Studio (March Residency)
Mar. 9 – Durham, NC – Shadowbox Studio (March Residency)
Mar. 16 – Durham, NC – Shadowbox Studio (March Residency)
Mar. 23 – Durham, NC – Shadowbox Studio (March Residency)
Mar. 28 – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival
May 12 – Charlotte, NC – Snugs Harbor
May 13 – Athens, GA @ Flicker Theater
May 14 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
May 15 – Saxapahaw, NC – Haw River Ballroom *
May 16 – Asheville, NC – AyurPrana Listening Room
Jun 18-20 – Nelsonville, OH – Nelsonville Music Festival
Jun. 22 – Yellow Springs, OH – Foundry Theater @ Antioch College – The Outside Presents
Jun. 23 – Detroit, MI – Trinosophes
Jun. 24 – Toronto, ON – TONE Toronto @ TBA
Jun. 25, 2026 – Montreal, QC – Suoni Per Il Popolo
Jun 27 – North Adams, MA – Solid Sound Music and Arts Festival (MASS MoCA)
Jul. 30 – Happy Valley, OR – Pickathon
*Setting album release show – w/ Walt McClements
