Eric Andersen clips

Boston Globe feature (April 10, 2018)

Brooklyn Vegan item (March 23, 2018)

Pop Matters 8/10 review (March 30, 2018)

Pop Matters track premiere (March 26, 2018)

WFUV session (April 29, 2018)

GARAGE/SOUL OF FAT POSSUM’S LIZ BRASHER HEADED TO NPR STAGE AT SXSW, GROOVE-HEAVY NEW EP ‘OUTCAST’ ON FAT POSSUM DUE APRIL 27

BRASHER, A MUSICAL AND ETHNIC OUTCAST, EXPLORES LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE

44-DATE TOUR CONFIRMED

“Artist to watch in 2018.” - NPR Music

"Timelessly American… Brasher's strain of soul [is] one that's flush with lyrical nods to Biblical images, Rubber Soul harmonies and a gruff reverence to its southern roots." - Billboard

Fat Possum’s “big-sounding” (Brooklyn Vegan) artist Liz Brasher will perform on the NPR Music stage at SXSW and will launch a 44-date tour as Fat Possum Records has confirmed the release of her EP ‘Outcast’ on April 27. a first-generation Dominican-Italian, this self-described outcast doesn’t fit neatly into any categories musically or personally. Brasher says, “I’ve never fit into a set group, genre or ethnicity and my heart goes out to other outcasts.”  She confesses that being an outcast is also an attitude she carries, saying, “I don’t like rules.”

“Body of Mine” postable link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV8LsZHXEso

 

 

Produced by Brasher, Scott Bomar of the Bo-Keys, and Bruce Watson in her new hometown of Memphis, the ‘Outcast’ EP draws as much from garage rock, classic soul and funk, and ‘60s girl group pop sounds as from the music she grew up singing in church. Often starting her songwriting with a beat, Brasher wrote several of the songs under the influence of her recent move to Memphis, including the hard-grooving “Come My Way,” the dark “Feel Something,” and the title track. “Feel Something” is simultaneously an observation on culture, where it takes more and more to shock onlookers, and a portrayal of a character who is constantly seeking attention. The EP also features Al Gamble (St. Paul & The Broken Bones, The Hold Steady, Robert Finley) on keys.

NPR Music said, “Good-God-Hallelujah… Brasher (rhymes with Frazer) shouts, rocks, rolls, and tears it up on stage; her music will dig down deep to touch your soul.” She’s also earned love from Spotify’s Fresh Folk playlist.

‘OUTCAST’ EP TRACK LISTING

1. Body Of Mine

2. Come My way

3. Feel something

4. Outcast

5. Remain

6. Cold Baby

Preorder link: http://store.fatpossum.com/products/outcast-ep

LIZ BRASHER PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

March 2 - Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater (w/ the Mavericks)

March 3 - Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater (w/ the Mavericks)

March 3 - Austin, TX - The Blackheart (midnight)

March 14 - Austin, TX - WMOT interview at El Mercado (4:30pm, SXSW)

March 14 - Austin, TX - NPR Stage at Stubb’s (SXSW)

March 15 - Austin, TX - Yeti (5:30pm, SXSW)

April 27 - Oxford, MS - Double Decker Arts Festival

April 29 - Columbus, MS - Sunstroke House

May 2 - Nashville, TN - The Basement

May 3 - Birmingham, AL - The Nick

May 4 - Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival

May 6 - West Palm Beach, FL - Sun Fest

May 8 - New Orleans, LA - House Of Blues *

May 10 - Austin, TX - Mohawk *

May 11 - Dallas, TX - House Of Blues Cambridge *

May 13 - Phoenix, AZ - Last Exit Live *

May 14 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues Voodoo Room *

May 15 - West Hollywood, CA - Peppermint Club *

May 16 - San Francisco, CA - Café Du Nord *

May 18 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Lounge *

May 20 - Seattle, WA - Barboza *

May 22 - Bozeman, MT - Filling Station *

May 23 - Salt Lake City, UT - Rye *

May 24 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre *

May 25 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown *

May 26 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry *

May 30 - Nashville, TN - City Winery - Nashville *

May 31 - St Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill - Duck Room *

June 1 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly's *

June 2 - Kearney, NE - Heritage Days *

June 6 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark *

June 7 - Pittsburgh, PA - Spirit Hall *

June 8 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall *

June 9 - Cleveland, OH - Laure Live *

June 12 - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head On Stage *

June 14 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Pour House *

June 15 - Hilton Head Island, SC - Rooftop Bar at Poseidon *

June 17 - Atlanta, GA - City Winery *

June 19 - Washington, DC - City Winery *

June 20 - Pawling, NY - Daryl's House *

June 21 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater *

June 22 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *

June 24 - Holyoke, MA - Iron Horse *

June 25 - Boston, MA - City Winery *

June 28 - Chicago, IL - City Winery *

June 29 - Toledo, OH - Civic Music Hall *

June 30 - Indianapolis, IN -The Vogue *

* with Red Wanting Blue

Brooklyn Folk Fest 2018 clips

Brooklyn Vegan item (January 10, 2018)

Liz Brasher clips

Billboard video premiere (October 4, 2017)

NPR Weekend Edition SXSW preview (March 10, 2018)

Brooklyn Vegan premiere (October 31, 2017)

NPR All Songs Considered (Jan 9, 2018)

Rolling Stone Country SXSW roundup (March 19, 2018)

The Suitcase Junket clips

Paste Magazine video post (April 19, 2017)

Brooklyn Vegan album stream (April 20, 2017)

Pure Volume track premiere (March 6, 2017)

Glide Mag video premiere (February 13, 2017)

American Songwriter photo spread (April 13, 2017)

The Boot track premiere (March 16, 2017)

Dusted Mag positive review (April 28, 2017)

Pop Matters positive review (April 27, 2017)

No Depression positive review (May 14, 2017)

Beale Street Caravan syndicated radio performance (May 10, 2017)

Relix session (May 31, 2017)

“EXPERTLY CRAFTED INDIEPOP” (BROOKLYN VEGAN) OF PINEY GIR WRAPS UP TOUR WITH GAZ COOMBES, UNVEILS NEW ANIMATED VIDEO

Piney Gir – the London-based, Kansas-raised indie pop artist who was not allowed to listen to pop music until the age of 14 – is earning raves for ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride’ (Greyday) as she supported the national tour by Gaz Coombes (Supergrass) in the past few weeks. Paste Magazine premiered the “Mouse of a Ghost,” featuring a drunk, animated penguin president planning to bomb Disney World.

Here's the brand new "Tilt a Whirl" video.

Here’s what we’ve hearing and reading:

“I love it.”
- Gaz Coombes

“Expertly crafted indiepop... She’s got a way with unusual but instantly catchy melodies, and the album’s full of clever production touches.”
- Bill Pearis, Brooklyn Vegan, March 22, 2016

“Enchanted pop world… Anthem-thematic exercise-orchestration where each song has this cleverly arranged thrill pop odyssey.”
- Sjimon Gompers, Impose Mag, January 9, 2016

“Nearly supernatural knack for gently askew pop songcraft.”
- Steve Smith, Boston Globe, March 23, 2016

“Delightful.”
- Pure Volume, April 5, 2016

“A melodic orgy of vibrant sounds… [Piney Gir] creates a fresh brand of whimsical indie-pop that’s drawn fair comparisons to Apples In Stereo and Jenny Lewis.”
- Michael Marotta, Vanyaland, March 25, 2016

“Beautiful melodies and catchy tunes.”
- Joey Willis, Glide Mag, December 26, 2015

“Her whimsical - but never cloying - tunes have bright, catchy melodies and her voice has a charming lilt… her songs have an underpinning of steel-strong craft.”
- Marianne Meyer, Examiner, March 31, 2016

Piney Gir 2015-16 clips

Brooklyn Vegan item (March 22, 2016)

Impose Mag video premiere (January 9, 2016)

Paste Magazine video premiere (December 21, 2015)

“ENTIRELY INTRIGUING” (AV CLUB) UK INDIE SINGER MARY EPWORTH EARNING RAVES AFTER PACKED NATIONAL TOUR FOR ‘DREAM LIFE’ (HIGHLINE RECORDS)

After raves from UK outlets like Q, MOJO, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Diva, Mary Epworth’s indie-psych-folk-pop masterpiece ‘Dream Life’ has crossed the pond to the US. Epworth most recently performed on a 36-date nationwide tour with Welcome To Night Vale which saw many nights sold out. ‘Dream Life,’ previously released in the UK, was out last week on Highline Records in the US. She performs Friday in LA at Hotel Café before returning to her native UK. Here’s what we’re reading:

"Her blend of baroque pop and West Coast folky psychedelia is appealing." - Brooklyn Vegan

"A blend of Chelsea Wolfe and Mirah, Epworth puts out evocative and dreamy tunes inspired by nature and imbued with fuzzy guitar and plaintive synths. It's a little bit folk, a little bit rock, and a little bit psych, all forming together into a mix of sounds that's entirely intriguing... Fans of acts like Cat Power and Lana Del Rey should find something to enjoy for sure” – AV Club

“Soaring, expansive folk music connected by an underlying thread of keys and synths.” - Village Voice

“On her debut LP, ‘Dream Life,’ Epworth pairs the Dusty Springfield template of vintage American soul-pop made cloudly and wounded like a misty, British Sunday afternoon with some hefty riffs, traces of unexpected kraut-drone, some ’80s Kate Bush sweep and wheat field country melodies… really cool, fairly dark sonic choices.” – CMJ

“Atmospheric pysch-pop… [Epworth’s voice is] a potent blend of sweetness and power.” – Wall Street Journal

"Effervescent" - Chicagoist

“This folk sound is but one of many detours taken by ‘Dream Life,’ which also incorporates psychedelic and kosmische influences.” – Pop Matters

“Brace yourself before you listen.” – Surviving The Golden Age blog

THE SPIRIT OF THE SEEGERS INFUSES DOM FLEMONS’ SOLO ALBUM ‘PROSPECT HILL’

ESQUIRE PREMIERES FIRST TRACK OUT FROM SOLO LP OUT JULY 22 ON MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION

As January 27 became January 28, folk and bluesman and Prairie Home Companion favorite Guy Davis stepped onto a redeye flight from New York to meet Dom Flemons and perform on the first recording sessions for the latter’s album ‘Prospect Hill,’ out July 22 on Music Maker Relief Foundation. Flemons recalls, “Guy was a guiding light within the whole process. The day before he came, he was at Pete Seeger's bedside saying goodbye. Guy has a long history with Pete Seeger: he was one of the singers in the Sloop Singers in the '70s. Guy had known Pete since he was a little kid. They were very close. Guy was torn up about it but he said, let's do this, that what Pete would've wanted. It was a heavy sort of thing to have at beginning of session.”

Esquire Magazine premiered “But They Got It Fixed Right On” today.

Brooklyn Vegan has previewed ‘Prospect Hill’ and Flemons’ set at the Brooklyn Folk Festival, which drew a standing ovation.

The connection between Flemons and Davis and the Seegers grew deeper as Davis playing a six-string banjo of Flemons’ that belonged to Pete’s half-brother and fellow musician and folklorist Mike Seeger, a mentor whom Flemons had met years earlier at the Black Banjo Gathering. He remembers, “We played together at his house in Lexington, VA. I went over there about a dozen times. He was very open to sharing his library, his information, his stories. I’d call Mike, ask him about stuff. He was a wonderful confidante and a good friend. He was also the first major person I’d met who I’d known from recordings. He took a lot of delight that I could quote liner notes and talk critically about music he produced. We got to be pretty close.”

Ultimately, Seeger’s passing helped bring the project into harmony with the missions of the Seegers. Flemons says, “Pete was never insular about getting music out there. A single person can help organize. Like-minded musicians organized together.”

In the liner notes for ‘Prospect Hill,’ Flemons writes, “As the year has progressed, I can proudly proclaim I see 2014 as the year of the Folksinger… When Pete Seeger passed the night before we began recording this record I knew that notion was a reality.”

Flemons tour dates, including NYC, Philadelphia, and Boston.

Camper Van Beethoven Brooklyn Vegan SXSW Wednesday day party poster

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN JOINS BROOKLYN VEGAN SXSW DAY PARTY

Camper Van Beethoven – indie rock originators celebrating their 30^th anniversary and first album in nine years 'La Costa Perdida' (429 Records) – have been added to the Brooklyn Vegan SXSW Day Party Wednesday at 4pm at the old Emo's (603 Red River St. at E. 6^th Street).

Reviews have been ecstatic as Pitchfork called the album "delightful," Consequence of Sound "easy to love," The Newark Star-Ledger "bewitching," Pop Matters "sure to satisfy," and Blurt "a wonder to behold."

Other musicians have also toasted Camper Van Beethoven. Britt Daniel's Divine Fits have recently covered CVB's "I Was Born In a Laundromat" both in concert and as a b-side to a recent single.

"The first time we heard CVB, we knew they were destined for greatness."

- R.E.M.

"Each member of Camper is a thoughtful songwriter, and a master of his instrument, with a totally unique vision, and together they have a balanced, egoless, and dynamic chemistry that's created many of my favorite songs."

- Doug Martsch (Built To Spill)

"Camper Van Beethoven, very much an essential '80s band traveling on their own arc, punctuated the beginning of my college career. They served it up with panache. 'Sometimes,' 'I Don't See You,' 'Ambiguity Song,' 'Circles,' 'Dustpan,' 'The History of Utah,' 'Still Wishing to Course'--all songs that ended up on assorted song cassette tapes in vain attempts to increase overall coolness. They made California cool to a Virginian. It was some good, reliable shit. As they wandered east, they backed it up with great live action. They were good musicians. That was weird. They were sarcastic. That was appealing."

- Bob Nastanovich (Pavement)

"I've kind of come back to a lot of the more American music that got me going in the first place – R.E.M. and Camper Van Beethoven and all these bands that borrowed from more American traditions like Neil Young and the Byrds."

- Colin Meloy (The Decemberists)

"I've been a Camper Van Beethoven fan since the mid 80's. 'Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart' is actually one of my very favorite albums of that era and one that I still pull out now. I know this one will be a keeper"

- Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)

SXSW 2013 Must-Sees Camper Van Beethoven, Corb Lund, & John Murry

Wednesday March 13

4pm – Camper Van Beethoven, Brooklyn Vegan Day Party, old Emo's, 603 Red River St., open to the public

"Delightful" (Pitchfork) indie rock originators Camper Van Beethoven's 'La Costa Perdida' (429 Records) debuted at #174 on the Billboard Top 200, #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, and #1 on the Alternative New Artist Album chart, as the band celebrates its 30^th anniversary.

7pm – Camper Van Beethoven, Copyright Alliance, El Sol y La Luna, 600 E 6th St., RSVP required

9pm - Corb Lund, Lonestar Music Official Showcase, Black Heart, 86 Rainey Street, open to badge and wristband holders only

"A revelation" (Washington Post), Corb Lund is the descendent of four generations of Albertan ranchers and former punk/metal player. In the Nashville Scene's 13th Annual Country Music Critics' Poll, Corb Lund is the #10 male vocalist and 'Cabin Fever' is the #20 best album of 2012. 'Cabin Fever' is out now on New West Records.

Thursday, March 14

2pm – David Lowery, Big Data: The New Oil or the New Snake Oil?, Room 9ABC, Will Mills (Head of Music, Shazam), Brett Alperowitz (VP, A&R Republic Records), Marie-Alicia Chang (Co-Founder & Head of Business Dev Musicmetric), Alex White (CEO Next Big Sound): http://schedule.sxsw.com/2013/events/event_MP4094

2:30pm – Corb Lund, New West Records Day Party, Threadgills, 301 West Riverside Drive, private

4:15pm – Corb Lund, Lonestar Music Day Party, St. Vincent De Paul parking lot, 1327 South Congress Ave., open to the public

Friday, March 15

2:45pm – John Murry, Daily Havoc Day Party, Hole in the Wall, 2538 Guadalupe St. (front stage), RSVP required

The "Masterful" (Baeble Music) John Murry – the southern literature-inspired songwriter, William Faulkner's second cousin, and darling of UK music scene – has been named a Next artist by NPR's World Café, which praises his music as music "alluring, emotional and infectious." 'The Graceless Age' comes out April 2 on Evangelina Recording Co.

5pm – David Lowery, Who's Ripping Me Off Now? Panel, Convention Center, Room 10AB, 500 E Cesar Chavez St. Also with Daryl Friedman (Chief Advocacy & Industry Rel Officer The Recording Academy( and East Bay Ray (Artist Dead Kennedys).

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN PLANS 30TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT FEB. 21 AT LA'S HOUSE OF BLUES

FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN NINE YEARS, 'LA COSTA PERDIDA' OUT JAN 22 ON 429 RECORDS

THREE NPR TAPINGS FOR CVB IN JANUARY AS STEREOGUM PREMIERS MP3

Camper Van Beethoven -- one of the bands that founded the indie rock genre – will celebrate its 30^th anniversary and new album 'La Costa Perdida' (January 22 / 429 Records) its first in nine years, with a concert February 21 at the House of Blues. The anniversary and new release has captured the attention of Brooklyn Vegan, among others.

Stereogum premiered the mp3 for "Someday Our Love Will Sell Us Out" on January 10.

On the tour, the band will also tape sessions with NPR's World Café and NPR's Mountain Stage and an interview with NPR Here & Now within the next month.

WHO: Camper Van Beethoven, in a double bill with Leftover Salmon

WHAT: 30^th anniversary concert and celebration of 'La Costa Perdida'

WHEN: 8pm, February 21, 2013

WHERE: 8430 Sunset Boulevard, W. Hollywood, (323) 848-5100

TICKETS: $22.50 in advance or $25 day of show via House of Blues box office

The band's peers are also toasting Camper Van Beethoven's 30^th anniversary. Built To Spill's Doug Martsch said, "Each member of Camper is a thoughtful songwriter, and a master of his instrument, with a totally unique vision, and together they have a balanced, egoless, and dynamic chemistry that's created many of my favorite songs."

Bob Nastanovich of Pavement said, "Camper Van Beethoven, very much an essential '80s band traveling on their own arc, punctuated the beginning of my college career. They served it up with panache. 'Sometimes,' 'I Don't See You,' 'Ambiguity Song,' 'Circles,' 'Dustpan,' 'The History of Utah,' 'Still Wishing to Course'--all songs that ended up on assorted song cassette tapes in vain attempts to increase overall coolness. They made California cool to a Virginian. It was some good, reliable shit. As they wandered east, they backed it up with great live action. They were good musicians. That was weird. They were sarcastic. That was appealing."

SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION SELL OUT MERCURY LOUNGE, EARN SHOWER OF PRAISE FOR "ROWDINESS" (BROOKLYN VEGAN)

UP NEXT: NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL JULY 28; CELEBRATE BROOKLYN AUG 4

Spirit Family Reunion packed Mercury Lounge on Friday, celebrating the release of their debut LP 'No Separation.' The sold out show comes with a wave of acclaim for the band, who are next set to grace the stage at Newport Folk Festival July 28 and Celebrate Brooklyn August 4. Here's some of what we're reading:

"Spirit Family Reunion fit right in with the bands they'll be sharing the stage with at this year's Newport Folk Festival [and] the rowdiness of other revival bands like The Felice Brothers and Deer Tick."

– Brooklyn Vegan

"For those who like their tunes a little more homegrown and banjo-filled, I highly recommend this New York band's brand new release, 'No Separation.'"

– USA Today

"Beautiful and raucous… best of what's next"

– Paste Magazine

"[Spirit Family Reunion was] seemingly transporting the crowd to an alternate universe where percussion was both invented and perfected with the washboard... In this world, the harmonica is always played with Dylanesque eloquence, perfection is a ragged, imperfect thing and the crowd always claps at the right time, completely in rhythm. Through it all, there was plenty of dancing, foot stomping and hollering…"

- House List (Bowery Presents blog)

"We couldn't be more excited."

– Baeble Music

"Rabble-rousing Brooklyn folkies Spirit Family Reunion deliver foot-stomping, throaty, joyful songs. We defy you not to tap along."

– Time Out New York

"The group, inspired by church revivals, has drawn comparisons to The Band."

– American Songwriter

"Ready-to-break... rousing and raucous."

– No Depression

"Raucous… With the blessing of Levon Helm (they were the last band to open for him before he passed away) and a growing army of fans on the back of their album No Seperation, Spirit Family Reunion are dragging traditional Americana back into the spotlight."

- Elmore Magazine

THRIFT STORE GOSPEL ACETATE ADDS NEW SONG TO SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION REPERTOIRE

Spirit Family Reunion drummer Peter Pezzimenti and friend Brian Belott formed a partnership to collect an archive of found recordings when the latter found what would become a staple of the band's set. A thrift store in Colorado unveiled an acetate of a song called "Give Me Wings" by the mysteriously named Cunningham. "It's an aluminum disc sprayed with acetate, a ten inch," recalls Pezzimenti. "He was one of the most powerful singers we'd found and we named him King Cunningham. He was a preacher."

"We collect reel-to-reels, wire recordings, answering machine tapes, and such, personal recordings made by amateurs, all one of a kind," says the drummer, who is also an abstract painter. He and Belott hosted WPS1's Lost and Found Sound show, affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art.

"I played it for the band without saying who it was one night." Spirit Family Reunion picked up their instruments and the arrangement came together immediately.

The band took the song, sped it up, and added their infectious harmonies and propulsive percussion, and recorded it for their debut album 'No Separation,' out June 15.

The acetate also had a b-side, with Cunningham and his daughter dueting on the song.

Brooklyn Vegan recently previewed 'No Separation.'

Paste Magazine is streaming 'No Separation' in its entirety.

Among other tour dates, Spirit Family Reunion will perform June 15 at Mercury Lounge, July 28 at Newport Folk Festival, and August 4 at Celebrate Brooklyn. Additional tour dates: http://www.spiritfamilyreunion.com/#shows

Spirit Family Reunion is Maggie Carson (banjo and vocals), Mat Davidson (fiddle and vocals), Nick Panken (guitar and vocals), Pezzimenti (drums and vocals), Stephen Weinheimer (washboard, drums, and vocals), and Ken Woodward (upright bass and vocals).

SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION ANNOUNCES 7" RECORD OF "I WANT TO BE RELIEVED" AND "GREEN ROCKY ROAD" JUNE 15 ALONGSIDE DEBUT ALBUM 'NO SEPARATION'

BROOKLYN VEGAN POSTS "I WANT TO BE RELIEVED"

MERCURY LOUNGE HEADLINING SHOW CONFIRMED FOR JUNE 15 AS NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, CELEBRATE BROOKLYN APPROACH

Spirit Family Reunion – the ready-to-break Brooklyn band that's already been booked at Newport Folk Festival and opened for Levon Helm – has confirmed the release of a 7" vinyl record June 15, alongside the release of its debut 'No Separation.' The 7" will consist of the rollicking original "I Want To Be Relieved" and "Green Rocky Road," from the repertoire of Karen Dalton.

Brooklyn Vegan recently posted "I Want To Be Relieved" and compared the band's "rowdiness" to that of Deer Tick and The Felice Brothers.

Postable mp3 of "I Want To Be Relieved" here.

NYC's Mercury Lounge will host the CD and 7" release show June 15. May 15, they packed the room with dancing, chanting fans in an opening slot. Spirit Family Reunion will then play at Newport Folk Festival July 28 and Celebrate Brooklyn August 4.

SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION TAKES CHURCH REVIVAL ENERGY AND IDEAS TO UNIVERSAL LEVEL WITH ORIGINAL AMERICAN MUSIC

BAND SELLS ITS OWN SONGBOOKS, INTENDING TO SPARK COMMUNITY

NEW YORKERS: SFR CONFIRMS ALBUM RELEASE SHOW JUNE 15 AT MERCURY LOUNGE

BAEBLE MUSIC: "WE COULDN’T BE MORE EXCITED"

Spirit Family Reunion – the ready-to-break Brooklyn band that's already been booked at Newport Folk Festival and opened for Levon Helm – sells something curious alongside its CDs: band songbooks with lyrics and chords. Guitarist/vocalist Nick Panken says, "We write simple songs that anyone could pick up on. There's a simplicity and universality."

Reminiscent of Woody Guthrie, The Anthology of American Folk Music, and The Band, the songs are intended to be sung by a wide audience, both at Spirit Family Reunion concerts and beyond. Bassist/vocalist Ken Woodward explains, "In performance, we try to break through the invisible shell that keeps people separated, which is why people say we're a joyful band." Panken adds, "Our audience doesn't just stand there. It's participatory."

The songwriting grew from the band's year-long residency at Lovin' Cup Café. Panken recalls, "We started playing these old church songs. We thought that we'd take the feeling and make it more universal."

From the debut album 'No Separation,' the Spirit Family Reunion songbook includes "I Want To Be Relieved," "I'll Find a Way," "No Separation," and "To All My Friends and Relations."

Blogs are starting to pick up on what bookers at Newport Folk Festival and Celebrate Brooklyn already know. Brooklyn Vegan posted "I Want To Be Relieved" and hailed the band's "rowdiness."

My Old Kentucky Blog posted "I Am Following the Sound," calling 'No Separation' "the fervor of a tent revival with the wallop of a bare-knuckle brawler… hoothollerstampandshout."

Baeble Music said, "We couldn't be more excited."

Spirit Family Reunion has confirmed an album release show at NYC's Mercury Lounge June 15.

More info, video, mp3, photos.

Tour dates.