Big Amygdala | Live at Reno Public Market for Artown

Powerhouse singer/songwriter supergroup Big Amygdala is the creative brainchild of Joel Ackerson (vocals, guitar, mandolin), Justin McMahon (vocals, guitar), and Kevin Brunet (vocals, bass). They have been building a following as Reno/Tahoe's hit 90s band, The Jagged Little Pills, but their story goes back much further. Joel and Justin have been playing together on the local folk scene for the last two decades where they became close friends and avid fans of each other's music. During that period, Joel produced three of Justin's original albums, with Joel's group The Novelists serving as Justin's backing band.

They had always talked about starting an originals project together, but these studio sessions were the closest they would get for many years still. Over half a dozen years ago, Kevin and Justin met while working at a tech startup and began playing Justin's original songs together. Before long, they invited Joel to join.

After taking some time off they met up again to co-bill last year's Artown closing night at Reno Public Market. A few months later they were in rehearsals for what would become The Jagged Little Pills, a sing-along acoustic trio featuring the biggest radio hits of the 90s. And now, they are proud to be re-launching the originals project (featuring the songs of both writers) as Big Amygdala for Artown 2024 at Reno Public Market.