Brooklyn Americana Fest: A Great Number Eight

Rosetta Serrano Opens The Festival / photo by Ming Fai Chan / courtesy of Little Red Hen Agency

The Dumbo Archway under the Manhattan Bridge was once again a prime venue for the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival (year eight), with late afternoon and evening performances on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23 and 24. There was a fine mix of new (to the festival) artists and returning favorites, soloists and bands alike, most of them local. Here is a sampling of some of the performances that Brooklyn Roads caught.

Alice Lee In The Archway / photo by Ming Fai Chan / courtesy of Little Red Hen Agency

The honor of opening the Archway series went to 17-year-old Rosetta Serrano, who impressed us not only with her vocal chops, but also with her reverence for artists from earlier decades. She segued between original compositions and covers, such as Hank Williams’ “The Waltz of the Wind” and ‘70s folk-pop singer-songwriter Judee Sill’s “Crayon Angels.” We expect to hear more from her.

Alice Lee had us hooked the moment she launched into “Where Are You My Love,” which began appropriately enough with the words “Summer’s gone away….” Sade is clearly among her influences – a notion confirmed with her soulful rendition of “King of Sorrow.” And while we don’t speak Spanish, the melancholy of her cover of Lida Pimienta’s “Nada” was palpable. When Lee left the stage after “Left of Mine” – a bittersweet song about missed connections – she left us wanting more.

The Brightmares – brothers Brendan and Damon Smith – treated the crowd to songs from their new album, When the World Gets Fixed, showing off the kind of harmony singing that siblings are particularly adept at. They also sang a gorgeous rendition of the Beatles’ “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and we believe Sir Elton John would heartily approve of their take on “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters.”

The Brightmares / photo by Ming Fai Chan / courtesy of Little Red Hen Agency

We were also impressed by Rebecca Hart and her band (Susie Greenbaum, fiddle and vocals; Rob Rapley, guitar; and Chris Nattrass, bass). They presented an energetic set that was one-third brilliant Hart originals from her album “The Magician’s Daughter” one third new tunes and the rest an eclectic choice of nicely rendered covers: Steely Dan’s “With a Gun,” Suzanne Vega’s “In Liverpool” and (our favorite) Tom Waits’ “Another Man’s Vine.”

Festival returnee Ana Egge’s set was highlighted by selections from her new album, Between Us, including the joyful “Wait a Minute” (“If you want to move, you have to get uncomfortable”) and the searing “Lie Lie Lie,” a song about self-deceit and toxic denial that displays Egge’s penchant for thought-provoking lyrics. Egge also dipped into her other recent albums for such gems as the breezy “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Dance Around the Room With Me,” a song she wrote for her daughter.

Kudos, too, to Neha, Treya Lam, Jackson Lynch and all the other fine performers who participated in this year’s festival.