Carolann Solebello: Americana With a Brooklyn Spin

Carolann Solebello- On The Podium/ courtesy of the artist

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Carolann Solebello, who has been performing solo for the last three years, is perhaps best known for her work with folk-Americana trio Red Molly and as co-curator of the ongoing  “Joni Mitchell’s Blue: A 40th Anniversary Celebration” tour. Under the collective name Chicks With Dip, Carolann, Brooklyn expatriates Sharon Goldman and Anna Dagmar, and seven other singer-songwriters each perform one song from that iconic album, and you can catch them June 1 at First Unitarian Church in Brooklyn Heights.

Carolann Solebello / photo courtesy of B.L. Howard Productions

Originally from Staten Island, Carolann relocated to Park Slope in 1996 and these days calls Flatbush home. Over the years, “I think I’ve absorbed the energy and diversity of sound that is Brooklyn,” she tells Brooklyn Roads.

“There are so many languages spoken here, and so much music from so many different parts of the world. I don’t claim to be an expert on any of them, but I will say that just listening to people and absorbing all that international energy is really inspiring to me.” Also, she notes, “I live only a few blocks from where Barbra Streisand grew up.  I love that–I’m a huge fan.”

Carolann’s parents were big fans of doo-wop, ’60s girl groups and Motown. That’s where, she tells us, “my love of harmony comes from, and my sense of song structure. There were always ‘oldies’ spinning on the living room stereo or on the car radio. Those tunes were mostly three-chord wonders with great melodies. Maybe those same qualities are what drew me to folk music.”

Carolann cites Pete’s Candy Store and Jalopy among her favorite Brooklyn music venues and says she is looking forward to “discovering other great rooms in Brooklyn to hear live music” when her busy performing schedule allows. That schedule includes a monthly gig at Two Moon Art House and Café in Park Slope, where we caught up with her.  Called “Second Fridays” (although it’s sometimes on the third Friday of the month), it’s a mostly acoustic evening co-hosted by Carolann and folk singer Bev Grant, a 30-year Park Slope resident, who both perform solo and welcome guest artists. Each show ends with everyone on the bill playing in “a Nashville-style song swap.”

Speaking of Nashville, she says that lately, “I have been writing songs that may not necessarily be for me to sing; I have one in the hopper I’d love someone like Trisha Yearwood to sing.” Likewise, she tells Brooklyn Roads, “I’d love to sing with Emmylou Harris someday.  Hey, I can dream, can’t I?” Carolann’s latest album, Threshold, is available from CD Baby and Amazon.com.