Bright Days Ahead for Shenandoah and the Night

What do bluegrass, jazz and burlesque all have in common? They’re all part of Shenandoah Ableman’s musical influences. Her band, Shenandoah and the Night, also incorporates elements of folk, old school soul, doo-wop and psychedelia to create a sound she describes as “moody, nostalgic and dark…there’s a longing to it.” Bursts of joy and infectious energy also punctuate the group’s music, adding to its appealingly eclectic flavor.

Raised by a bluegrass fiddling dad and mandolin playing mom in northern California, Shenadoah grew up going to music festivals. “It’s kind of in my blood,” she says, adding that from the day she first performed for her parents her career path “was never in doubt.” She was already singing professionally when she enrolled at the University of San Francisco where she honed her singing skills while earning a BA in jazz vocals.

Less than a year later she began an eight-year stint as Sassafras, a singer and burlesque dancer with the Yard Dogs Road Show whose unique amalgam of vaudeville, cabaret and rock ‘n’ roll attracted a loyal cult following as well as critical acclaim. Shenandoah still uses some of the moves she learned from that experience. “There is a bit of dancing throughout our show. When we perform All the Beautiful Ladies, I do a tight little feather fan dance.”

Her songwriting is influenced by “the punishments and pleasures of life on the road,” but tempered with a feeling of “wanting to go home,” which explains her being “pulled,” as she puts it, 3,000 miles across the country. “My grandparents and great-Grandparents are from Brooklyn, so it seemed like I was coming home.” She met her band mates en route to her current home in Brooklyn where Shenandoah and the Night ultimately coalesced and began building an enthusiastic following. In addition to Ableman, the group consists of guitarist Seth Johnson, bassist Miles Mullin, drummer Sean Hutchinson and Kwame Brandt-Pierce on accordion, piano and organ.

Shenadoah and the Night were quick to take advantage of the “access to wonderful people and studios” that the borough provides. While the group produced most of their self-titled debut EP themselves, the achingly beautiful single These Arms was a collaboration with singer/songwriter Rusty Santos, known for his work with other Brooklyn indie artists such as Animal Collective and Gang Gang Dance.

Shenadoah also has high praise for several of Brooklyn’s performance venues, singling out Zebulon for its “intimacy and great sound.” If you missed the group’s shows there, at Brooklyn Bowl or at Red Hook Bait and Tackle earlier this year, or their Memorial weekend EP release party at Spike Hill, you can catch them across the river at Bryant Park on July 13.