Ramblin' Jack Elliot is a National
Medal of The Arts recipient for his contribution to
American folk music, a five-time Grammy nominee and a
two-time Grammy winner. He has recorded forty albums;
wrote one of the first trucking songs, Cup of Coffee,
recorded by Johnny Cash; championed the works of new
singer-songwriters, from Bob Dylan and Kris
Kristofferson to Tim Hardin; became a founding member
of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue; and continued
the life of the traveling troubadour influencing Jerry
Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, Tom Russell The Grateful Dead
and countless others.
At seventy-seven, Ramblin' Jack is still on the road,
still seeking those people, places, songs and stories
that are hand-crafted, wreaking of wood and canvas,
cowhide and forged metal. You'll find him in the
sleek lines of a long haul semi-truck, in the rigging
of an old sailing ship, in the smell of a fine leather
saddle.
Ramblin' Jack Elliot closes out The Tenth Brooklyn
Country Music Festival at The Bell House, Sunday,
August 23, 2015 at 9pm.
Thursday,
August 20, 2015,
The 10th Brooklyn Country Music Festival, Day One
North of Amarillo
(Thursday, 6pm, Frontier Room)
North
of Amarillo is dedicated to reviving and
reinterpreting the songs of the first ladies of
country including songs and arrangements made famous
by the great Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Tammy
Wynette and Dolly Parton as well as many other
classic country classics. Their front-lady Kelli
Scarr, a consummate songwriter in her own right,
brings new life to these country classics with her
energetic guitar playing and singing style. The band
features the talents of Brooklyn's finest country
pickers Luca Benedetti and Jason Loughlin on dueling
telecasters, pedal steel extraordinaire Jonathan
Lam, Scott Colberg on bass and Arthur Vint on drums.
(Photo by Brian Geltner)
Miss Tess & The Talkbacks
(Thursday, 8pm, Main Event Hall)
Miss
Tess & The Talkbacks is a grooving
rock ‘n’ roll band rooted in swinging blues,
throwback country, and rockabilly music from
Brooklyn, NY. Front and center in this tight quartet
is soulful songwriter and skilled guitarist, Miss
Tess. She possesses a voice that is, "alternately
seductive and sexy, and is a pure joy to listen to”
(Pop Matters).
With multiple US tours and several releases under
their belts, Miss Tess & The Talkbacks has
proven to be one of the most exciting acts on the
blossoming Americana scene. The band, with its
self-described modern vintage sound, is currently in
the studio writing and recording material for their
tenth album. A sneak preview of two of their new
tunes will be released as a 45 single and download
in spring, 2015 on Signature Sounds Recordings (Lake
Street Dive, Eilen Jewell, Chris Smither, Josh
Ritter, Erin McKeown).
The Paisley Fields
(Thursday, 830pm, Frontier Room)
The
Paisley Fields are a country band based
in city where the blue of the sky is snatched from
skyscrapers. There is no doubt Brooklyn has more
concrete than fields. But the band is unapologetic
about pushing boundaries and seeking inspiration in
the unexpected.
Singer/songwriter/pianist James Wilson is not the
cowboy hat wearing, good old boy one pictures when
thinking about country music. The Brooklyn resident
and lead singer cuts a different kind of cowboy
figure.
Wilson also happens to be a gay man.
In 2010, Wilson spent a year living in Japan and
making music with his band Sora Ocean. His time
living in the Japanese countryside made him realize
he wanted to make a change in his life.
Back in New York, Wilson spoke to his longtime
collaborator Jessica Kimple about forming a band
together, a country band. Growing up in Iowa, Wilson
listened to country musicians like Dolly Parton and
Johnny Cash. Kimple, a trained opera singer and an
Iowa native, signed on immediately. In 2012, The
Paisley Fields played their first gig. The band
added Anna Volpe to the mix in 2014. Volpe is also a
trained opera singer.
The Paisley Fields’ second EP is due out in August,
followed by their first full length album.
The Brain Cloud
(9pm, Main Event Hall)
The
Brain Cloud - Born in 2010, the Brain
Cloud is the brain-child of multi-instrumentalist
Dennis Lichtman. The band’s self-titled 2011 debut
album captures their remarkable sound – from the
inimitable vocal stylings of Tamar Korn to
Lichtman’s fresh arrangements, with plenty of hot
picking and hard swinging from the entire sextet.
Dennis Lichtman is a man of many musical minds,
jumping genres and instruments incessantly,
sometimes within one show, or even within one song.
He is equally at home on mandolin, fiddle, and
clarinet. He has toured the world as a
traditional-jazz clarinetist, graced many a
bluegrass festival stage as a fiddler, and devoted
much time to the study of early 20th century
Brazilian mandolin music. Along the way, he has
performed and recorded with top masters in each of
those genres. He is in constant demand as a session
musician, arranger, and sideman in New York’s
hopping music scene.
In early 2010, Lichtman joined forces with Tamar
Korn, whom he had known for two years as bandmates
in the old-timey jazz outfit the Cangelosi Cards.
This new band’s purpose was to delve into a side of
American music for which they shared a fondness, but
had not fully explored in the horn-heavy Cangelosi
Cards. If western swing had not been invented 75
years prior, this would have been the moment for its
creation – a meeting point of bluegrass/string-band
music/early country with early jazz, with loads of
energy and no rules.
In addition to Lichtman and Korn, the Brain Cloud
includes Skip Krevens (guitar and vocals), Raphael
McGregor (steel guitar), Kevin Dorn (snare drum),
and Andrew Hall (bass). Each is a masterful
instrumentalist in his own right, and each brings a
unique perspective, impeccable musicianship, and a
distinctive voice to the mix. McGregor’s whimsical
slipping and sliding, Skip’s hot licks and
occasional vocal, Dorn’s air-tight pulse, and Hall’s
meaty slap-bass.
Jack Grace Band
Thursday, August 20,
2015
10pm, Main Event Hall
Jack
Grace Band - Jack Grace’s form of
experimental country art rock has been compared to
everything from Frank Zappa to early Johnny Cash —
or “Cole Porter meets Gene Autry” as the New York
Times once wrote.
Seven album releases and tracks featured in the
films Super Troopers and Beer Fest have earned Jack
a growing following and a steady hum of praise.
While his previous release, "Drinking Songs for
Lovers," added mariachi horns inspired by his yearly
pilgrimage to Tulum, Mexico, his latest
release, "Everything I Say Is A Lie", is due out in
the fall and features Norah Jones and is produced by
Eric "Roscoe" Ambel.
As Alan Young of the New York Press raved at the
time, what sets Jack’s songs “apart from the rest of
the country or alt-country scene is his
laugh-out-loud, absurdest wit. Not only is this a
great party album and a great driving album but it’s
also very smart and very funny.”
Andrew Sovine & Friends
Thursday, August 20, 2015
11pm, Frontier Room
Andrew
Sovine - I was born in Nashville, TN
into a musical family. started playing guitar when I
was four years old. Soon I was playing in the family
band, and constantly asking my uncle to show me how
to play Beatles songs. I quickly began attempting to
play every instrument I could get my hands on.
Eventually I added banjo, mandolin, trumpet, lap
steel/dobro, and harmonica to my arsenal. I own an
accordion, but you don't want to know about that.
In my teens I began playing at church, coffee
shops, and the downtown bars and honky tonks in my
hometown. Seeing players like Redd Volkaert, Brent
Mason, and Kenny Vaughan up close at such a young
age was equally humbling and inspiring. The honky
tonks led to regional tours and a love/hate
relationship with vans.
In 2005 I was invited to join Grammy nominated,
eleven time ICM vocal group of the year The Fox
Brothers on tour. The brothers liked that i could
play a lot of different things and graciously
feautured that every night. This included a solo
trumpet performance of "Amazing Grace" that brought
the crowd to their feet on most occasions.
After touring for several years with the Foxes, I
went on to play on the road and in the studio with
such artists as Big Kenny (Big & Rich,) Wynonna,
Chase Rice, Don Gallardo, Cale Tyson, Kelsey Waldon,
and Ashley McBryde to name just a few.
As of August 2014 I'm living in Brooklyn NY and
digging into the music scene up here. I'm fronting a
band most of the time and playing around the city at
a few different clubs. There's a tremendous amount
of good music up here and I'm excited to be a part
of the club. Check the calendar, come on out to a
show, and say hey sometime.