Pitt musician spotlight: The Brothers Craig score first big opening gig for Hoodie Allen

After winning Pitt’s most recent round of Battle of the Bands, acoustic trio The Brothers Craig will make their live debut opening for Hoodie Allen at Fall Fest.

Roommates Stephen Kraus, Paul Carey and Jack Loeffler started the band after months of playing for fun in their apartment.

“After a while, we decided to get serious and start trying to play some gigs that didn’t involve our neighbors yelling at us for being too loud,” Kraus said.

Fall Fest will be The Brothers Craig’s first large performance. Besides Battle of the Bands, the only other public show they’ve done is an open mic night in the William Pitt Union last year.

The band describes its sound as “high-energy acoustic,” which makes for interactive performances.

“What makes [our sound] unique is the completely different musical backgrounds all three of us come from,” Carey said. “Because of that, we draw inspiration from nearly every genre of music.”

The Brothers Craig opens for Hoodie Allen and Chiddy Bang 1 p.m. this Sunday at Fall Fest.

Each band member had a different opinion for most of the questions on our standardized Pitt musician survey.

Favorite Oakland pizza shop: Little Nippers II

Biggest musical inspiration: Paul: Brantley Gilbert; Stephen: Tie between Guster and Arcade Fire; Jack: Noel Gallagher from Oasis

Favorite movie with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: Paul: “Race to Witch Mountain;” Stephen and Jack: “The Other Guys”

Favorite Pittsburgh venue: If we had to pick one, we would want to play the most, it would be Stage AE.

Favorite place to go for inspiration: Paul: Yosemite Valley, Calif.A; Stephen: Narnia; Jack: Downtown, although most of our ideas end up coming from our living room

Academic building you’d hold a concert in: Paul: David Lawrence lecture hall; Stephen: Hillman Library, on any of the quiet floors; Jack: Loeffler Building, for obvious reasons