When Varsity staff heard The Big Hurts play in an informal setting in the Varsity Bar over Halloween weekend last year, they knew we wanted them back in our fantastic listening room space, the Balcony. The husband-and-wife duo will be performing at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 21.

The Carbondale-based duo – Matt Garrison (guitar/vocals) and Holly Hurt (bass/suitcase drums/vocals) – play a spunky mix of rocking, country-fried, bluesy originals that lean into life's joys and "hurts," both big and small. In July, they will release their first album, “The Last Farmer,” recorded with a full-band collaboration with a gang of talented locals.

The Big Hurts take the stage at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 21. Tickets are $5 and are available in advance online at thevarsitycenter.eventbrite.com. They aren’t available in advance at the venue but can be purchased one hour before each performance time, when doors and the Varsity Bar open at 6.

The Varsity is downtown Carbondale at 418 S. Illinois Ave. For more information about events at the Varsity, go to www.thevarsitycenter.org and follow at www.facebook.com/varsitycenter.