The West Kortright Centre is presenting the roots band Birds of Chicago on Saturday June 28, at 8PM. JT Nero and Allison Russell, two of the most compelling new voices in North American roots music, front the four-piece, multi- instrumental collective that delivers mountain gospel, street corner doo-wop, and classic soul. Following a ten-day spring tour with the Carolina Chocolate Drops (WKC 2007), they toured the U.K. and Ireland before making this WKC debut. Recently married, JT Nero and Allison Russell will be here with their five-month old daughter, born during this winter’s Polar Vortex. (How can we forget?)
Guitarist JT Nero is a distinctive new American songwriter who lists Mark Twain and Sam Cooke among his biggest songwriting influences. He is a poet of the everyday and the absurd (as evidenced by his clever and quirky songs of human emotions), of the familiar and strange, of loneliness and hope, and he’s a bit of a rock ‘n’ roll preacher. In Allison Russell voice you'll hear echoes of mountain gospel, classic soul, early R&B, and speakeasy chanteuse music—all backed up by her banjo, ukulele, guitar, clarinet, and amazing whistling skills. She writes gorgeous, unpredictable songs and makes other people’s songs her own with startling ease.
For several years Russell’s and Nero’s respective bands, Po' Girl (Vancouver, BC) and JT and the Clouds (Chicago, IL), collaborated extensively, but on 2011’s Mountains/ Forests, released under the JT Nero banner, they tapped into the true power of their voices together on an entire record. Mountains/Forests received critical raves and won them new fans on both sides of the Atlantic. Birds of Chicago’s eponymous debut album was released in October 2012 and was celebrated with a four-month co-album release tour with Sean Hayes & Elephant Revival. It has earned raves across the board. Says the Chicago Tribune, “They project organic gospel, hillbilly, folk and soul elements that bridge traditional and modern approaches.”
Tickets for this concert are $23, ($27 day of); $20 WKC Member ($24) and $11 under 19. For more information, call (607) 278-5454, or visit www.westkc.org. The West Kortright Centre is located midway between Oneonta, Delhi, and Stamford. Follow signs from state Route 23 in Davenport Center or state Route 10 east of Delhi. For exact travel directions, visit www.westkc.org.
2014 West Kortright Centre arts and community programs are funded in part by our members, by contributors to the 2014 Program Fund Drive and to the Nancy Fales Garrett Workshop Scholarship Fund, by the Bert Santora Trust, and by grants from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and from the O’Connor, Robinson-Broadhurst, and Dewar foundations.
West Kortright Centre
49 West Kortright Church Road
East Meredith, NY 13757
607.278.5454
www.westkc.org
