Laura Rain and The Caesars will perform with The Vinyl Vagabonds from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday at the Bluestem Stage.

Tickets cost $15 for students and $18 for non-students and are available at Eventbrite and at the door.

The Vinyl Vagabonds, a soul and blues group from Ames, will open for Rain. This five-piece band is known for the excitement and funk it brings to the stage. It finished in second place in the Central Iowa Blues Challenge earlier this year.  

Laura Rain and The Caesars, who are from and were brought together in Detroit, Michigan, will headline the night. 

Rain met her performing partner George Friend and his band, which became The Caesars a few years ago, when she came back to Detroit after spending some time in California.

“George and I honestly had never met but he had lived in California for a long time and I had known of him, Rain said. And when I moved back from Los Angeles for the second time about four years ago, I randomly met him and I hired him for a gig. [A] week later we were writing music.” 

Rain and The Caesars are coming off their newest album titled “Gold,” which was special to her because of the unique way it was recorded.

Rain said the entire band played in the same room and recorded every instrument simultaneously. This is different from the modern style of recording, which only records one instrument at a time and then dubs them together.

“I think from now on we’re hooked, we’re gonna record like that all the time because it sets us apart,” Rains said. “Even though it’s still a digital product, it has the warmth of an analog vinyl.” 

The group also tends to take time off each winter and write music before recording and touring again. Rain said the development process of its music is great to be a part of. Rain also enjoys touring and gets excited to play for people who love music, calling Iowa a “hot spot.”

To find out more about Laura Rain and The Caesars and The Vinyl Vagabonds’ concert, visit the Bluestem website.