Up and coming indie pop band Yam Haus has risen out of the Minneapolis music scene since they released their first album, “Stargazer,” in June of 2018. The group has gained recognition after performing alongside well-known artists including Kacey Musgraves and Jason Mraz at the 2019 Basilica Block Party in July, as well as with local artists such as Flora Cash and Semisonic.

Yam Haus is set to perform at the M-Shop on Friday.

Shortly after “Stargazer” made its debut, the band also released a full-length acoustic version of the album, titled “Stargazer Sessions.” Having acoustic versions of their originally kinetic, pop-tempo singles allows them to cater to the more intimate vibe and space of smaller “hole in the wall” type venues.

“Acoustic is more my wheelhouse,” said Lars Pruitt, lead vocalist and guitarist of Yam Haus. “Songwriting, that’s how I started performing; it was more of ‘Oh, I have my acoustic guitar and that’s it, that’s my heartbeat for how to play and perform music.’ But I think both [versions] serve a purpose and there’s a place for both.”

Yam Haus’s stylistic diversity doesn’t end with their acoustic album. One of their new singles released this year is called “The Thrill,” which exercises electronic sounds and instrumentals paired with hypnotic, pulsing beats to create a very groovy track. This song easily ties in with the components of their debut record.

Their other new single “Simplicity” is equally “feel-good” music and maintains a peppy rhythm but starkly contrasts to “The Thrill” in terms of the tone. “Simplicity” achieves a bright and springy sound with thoughtfully rising and falling gentle vocals.

Pruitt shared there is much more to look forward to from the band in the near future. He expressed the amount of energy and time the group has been devoting to working on new songs and said they are currently fully immersed in the creative process. 

“We are in the midst of so much music right now, like truly in the midst of I would say 17, 18 or 19 different song demos and that includes just songs we thought were good enough that we recorded them down into decently listenable versions,” Pruitt said.

Students planning to attend Friday evening’s concert can expect an energetic performance from the humble, Minnesota-based musicians and are invited to embrace the band’s message of love, acceptance, kindness and peace ⁠— and feel free to dance and move like nobody’s watching.

“I want them to feel the sensation of ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t care how I’m dancing and I don’t care if it looks cool, I’m just enjoying moving my body and tapping my feet,” Pruitt said. “That’s sort of a challenging place for people to get to and I want to help them get there.”