Don’t let the sadness and down-on-their-luck characters on Pedigo’s Magic Pilsner fool you. The new release from Dallas singer/songwriter John Pedigo, one half of folk-rock duo The O’s, also radiates plenty of hope, joy and exuberant defiance in the face of loss. Pedigo’s father was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and Pedigo set out to make and record some songs that would, in their own way, honor and entertain his dad.

The last day of this year’s 2014 Rhythms on the Rio was a mix of rain and sun. Actually, for year’s past, this was a dry festival for the most part.

Resiliency marked the opening of the Rhythms on the Rio Riverside Fest this past Saturday. After the spring fires, the summer monsoons hit the region hard, coloring the Rio Grande with black runoff from the burn scars higher in the mountains and swelling the waters into a rushing torrent. More of those rains hit the festival late afternoon creating some scrambling between the sound crew and the bands and forcing festivalgoers under any available tarps and canopies.

Born out of Dallas, Texas' rich music scene, The O's deliver a melodic, catchy pop sound, achieved with folk-minded acoustic instrumentation, drawing influences from the modern and traditional Americana scenes.  Comprised of Taylor Young (acoustic guitar, kick drum) and John Pedigo (banjo), the duo had spent time in numerous Dallas bands, including Polyphonic Spree, Young Heart Attack, Slick 57, Boys Named Sue, P.W. Long, and The Backsliders, before coming together in 2008 to form The O's.