Brooklyn Americana Fest: Number Nine Is Looking Fine
The 9th edition of the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival (BKAMF) takes place from Thursday, Sept. 28, through Sunday, Oct. 1. Venues include Dumbo Archway, Superfine and 68 Jay Street Bar in Dumbo, and Jalopy Theatre and Sunny’s in Red Hook. Plenty of new-to-BKAMF artists will grace those stages along with some familiar faces. All in all, it looks like this will be another memorable event on a par with, if not surpassing, its eight predecessors.
Jan Bell / courtesy of the artist
The festival’s founder, Jan Bell, kicks off the proceedings at Jalopy on Thursday night, followed by Ever More Nest, an Independent Music Awards nominee from New Orleans; Brittany Ann Tranbaugh, whose “Kiss You” was awarded Song of the Year in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest; Joy Clark, who has performed on national TV (Ellen and Jimmy Kimmel Live); and Caleb Caudle, who toured this summer opening for Steve Earle.
Ever More Nest / photo by Michael Alford
Among those returning to the BKAMF are Queen Esther, a dynamic proponent of African-American country and bluegrass, and local artists Neha (Brooklyn Roads’ October 2018 “Artist on Our Radar”), and Taylor Plas, accompanied by another returnee, “Downtown” Rashad Brown. Other Brooklyn-based or connected performers playing at the festival are Rams Montero whose songs combine Latin and country elements; versatile, eclectic folkie Samoa Wilson; Wyndham Baird, a familiar face to patrons of Jalopy and the Brooklyn Folk festival; and the Gentlemen Brawlers.
Mose Wilson-photo courtesy of the artist
Hailing from Nashville, Hannah Juanita and Mose Wilson will be doing sets both at the Archway and at Sunny’s. Wilson leans toward the bluesey side of country/bluegrass while Juanita blends classic country music with 21st century sensibilities. Another Tennessean, Evrette, is a singer-songwriter deeply rooted in Appalachian music.
Rounding out the festival are “American Noir” rockabilly singer Saudia Young; AC Sapphire, winner of numerous performing and songwriting awards; and violinists Charles Burnham and Kensuke Shoji.