When Trevor Powers brought his Youth Lagoon project to Walker’s Point for a Studio Milwaukee Session in July of 2023, there was good cause to be excited. Little did we know that shortly after his visit, Powers would embark on a journey that brings him back to Milwaukee on May 8 for a show at the Vivarium.

In the fall of 2023, he stumbled on a shoebox packed with home videos while scouring his parents’ basement for a decades-old harmonica that was once his grandmother’s. “When I took the tapes home and popped in the first one, it was my brother Bobby and I at the state fair. I was 4 years old, choking on a corn dog,” he recounted, laughing. “If anything’s a summary of life, that is.”

Powers’ recollection came as part of an announcement for new album Rarely Do I Dream — a project with the vibes of a childhood memoir and the hopes of more personal growth to come. “The more I rewind the tapes of my life, the more I can hear the voice of my soul,” he said in the release. “This isn’t nostalgia. Life’s much more messy than that. It’s a dedication to all the parts of who I was, who I am, and who I’m going to be.”