Reviews

Giant Flying Turtles / Ray Fontaine photo

Giant Flying Turtles photo by Ray Fontaine

Giant Flying Turtles – An Epic Musical Carpet Ride

February 6, 2018 by Ray Fontaine

Giant Flying Turtles played a one hour set to a full house at Arlene’s Grocery in the Lower East Side on January 27, 2018. The... read article

Little Steven at The Brooklyn Bowl -photo by HBL

Steven Van Zandt Wails at the Holiday Bowl A Go Go! photo © B.L.Howard Productions

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul — Holiday Bowl A Go-Go!

January 6, 2018 by B.L. Howard

Steven Van Zandt and his Disciples of Soul staged the First Annual Holiday Bowl A Go-Go! at the Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg to a packed... read article

Evanescence-The Synthesis Album

December 5, 2017 by Adina Bernstein

When a successful band releases a new album, they have a chance to re-introduce themselves to their long-time fans and introduce themselves to new fans.... read article

Nicole Atkins photo by Jeff Fasano

Nicole Atkins Says “Goodnight Rhonda Lee”…

November 20, 2017 by David K. Moseder

There has always been an element of soul in Nicole Atkins’ voice. On her new album, Goodnight Rhonda Lee, she wears it on her sleeve.... read article

Amy Lee and Evanescence at Kings Theatre photo by Kyra Kverno

Evanescence Synthesizes Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre

November 14, 2017 by B.L. Howard

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect setting for Evanescence to augment their return from a three year hiatus than the stately Gothic architecture of... read article

BottomLine / photo by Kevin Yatarola-144

"River Deep Mountain High" Finale photo by Kevin Yatarola /courtesy of Morahan Arts & Media

“Walls” Builds a Bridge Back in Time to The Bottom Line

October 18, 2017 by B.L. Howard

The famed Bottom Line Cabaret was a Greenwich Village music mecca from 1974 to its closing in 2004, a 30-year run that was both remarkable... read article

BK Americana 1 (© Alexa Hoyer)-courtesy of Go Go PR

M Shanghai String Band Performs at the 2017 Brooklyn Americana Folk Festival Stage At Brooklyn Bridge Park photo by Alexa Hoyer

Variety and Authenticity Highlight Brooklyn Americana Music Festival

October 12, 2017 by David K. Moseder

There were many standout performances at this year’s Brooklyn Americana Music Festival (September 22-24). Festival Founder Jan Bell, whose own band, The Maybelles, played at... read article

Junior Astronomers at Afro Punk photo by Ray Fontaine

Applause for Afropunk’s Artistry and Activism

August 31, 2017 by Ray Fontaine

On August 26 and 27, 2017, Afropunk called together a fantastic showcase of fashion, music, activism, and community. This year’s Brooklyn festival , held... read article

Banjoist Valerie June / photo by Eliana Rowe_21

Banjoist Valerie June at Summerstage Eliana Rowe

Valerie June’s in Tune at SummerStage!

August 30, 2017 by Howard B. Leibowitz

On a starry summer’s night, Valerie June showed concert goers at Central Park’s SummerStage why her music is spellbinding an ever growing legion of music lovers around... read article

Willie Nile’s ‘Positively Bob’ Is Positively Brilliant

July 23, 2017 by David K. Moseder

Before the catch-all term “Americana” was coined, there was a thing called “folk-rock.” Willie Nile helped keep that genre alive, adding a dash of punk... read article

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Artists on our Radar

Brayden Baird Is Asking the Big Questions – And Making You Laugh Through the Pain

Brayden Baird -photo courtesy of Mix-Tape Media

After decades of producing and releasing music under various aliases, Brooklyn’s own Brayden Baird is stepping into the spotlight with his most raw and refined work yet. Backed by the Once in a Lifetime Band, Baird’s upcoming LP Lord, why do you do these things to me? is a heartfelt and even satirical exploration of grief, identity, and faith that refuses to follow conventional sounds before its time. Across the ten-track album, Baird weaves catchy humor with emotional vulnerability, building a soundscape that feels intimate and extravagant all at once. His lyrics are clever without being cynical and full of sincerity; this delicate balance places him alongside emerging alt-folk figures like Cameron Winter and Nate Amos. The album kicks off with its title track, a sharp, stomping folk-rock number that wrestles with clever anecdotes and the chaos of unanswered prayers. From there, the songs unravel like chapters in a personal essay. The blending of stories of loss, family, addiction, and self-discovery comes about in just about every track. “Light in the Tunnel” turns a daily subway ride into an anthem of personal awakening. At the same time, “When Will the Sun Rise Again?” delivers a haunting, piano-led meditation on mourning and artistic authenticity. Other tracks showcase Baird’s gift for finding light in unlikely places. “Blue for the Body” is a lively reflection on coping mechanisms based on Gatorade flavors, which Baird says “is intended as a fun jam that people can sing and play along to and make light of the weight of addictions.”. “Pelican” draws on childhood lore amid his father’s mythical stories that untangle complex family bonds. With the accompanying music video for this track, Baird draws on whimsical elements of his father’s storytelling, saying, “In life, it is so easy to hate somebody based on the things they’ve done and so hard to forgive. After all, we are just working with the things we’ve got.” One of the album’s most affecting moments, which comes halfway through “It Kills Me to See You Sick,” channels rage and helplessness into a hushed piano ballad that’s both deeply personal and widely relatable, with Baird recounting the pain and sadness behind the song’s creation as his mom was diagnosed with Cancer as other family members were simultaneously hospitalized. On the last track of the album, “When You Were Castrated,” Baird confronts mortality and estrangement with brutal honesty about his father’s passing, delivering a final note that is at once heartbreaking and cathartic. Baird’s musical world is one of contradictions: funny and tragic, sarcastic and sincere, spiritual and grounded. With Lord, why do you do these things to me?* he’s created an album that doesn’t just tell stories but invites listeners to sit with them, question them, and sing along anyway. Catch Brayden Baird and the Once in a Lifetime Band at their album release show at The Rabbit Hole in Brooklyn on June 26 and stream the whole record on June 20.

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