Welcome to the final installment of Brooklyn City Limits featuring three of Brooklyn’s most prolific bands. Each act has been playing their role in advancing the local scene through a variety of events and promotion.

Tall County is a Brooklyn-based trio writing and playing stripped-down songs on strung-up instruments. They recorded their debut EP, Shine, singing and picking around a couple mics in a souped-up family barn in the Hudson Valley. A wood-burning stove helped with the heat.

Brooklyn band Karen & the Sorrows’ debut EP is a four-part, alt-country song cycle/ghost story. Ocean-Born Mary centers around a misremembered legend from band member Elana Redfield’s childhood in New Hampshire. Band leader Karen Pittleman has created a buzz throughout Brooklyn with her Queer Country Monthly at Branded Saloon as well as her sold out Gay Ole Opry events.

Roosevelt Dime, a four-piece, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based band that blends elements of acoustic jug-band blues, classic New Orleans soul and neo-folk to create an original sound best described as Kings County Steamboat Soul. “It’s authentic, frivol, party and relaxing at the same time. It’s rooted in tradition without being old fashioned, this is modern acoustic American roots music at its best” Folkworld (Issue #43, Nov 2010)

Thank you for your continued support of Brooklyn Country music and the acts playing around town. Thank you for your support of this music series. We’ll be seeing you.

Excited to see The Doc Marshalls back this neck of the woods. Brooklyn Country Radio host Scott Dennis of Dirt Floor Revue wrote a review of their latest release Look Out, Compadre.

The Doc Marshalls have made a departure with their third full length release, Look Out, Compadre. The one time French Cajun and honky-tonk Brooklyn based band packed its portmanteau and headed down to Nashville. And, with this latest release, the band has made a left turn departing from its classic country sound to one of Americana.

Yea, it’s ironic. The band sweats it out in the urban gritty Honky Tonk jungle of NYC for years playing stellar fiddle two-steps and then moves to Music City, USA, the country capital of the world, to perform guitar driven Americana. So, fans of the the band’s No Kind of Life (2005) and Honest for Once (2008) may be left scratching their heads and wondering to themselves, what happened?

What has happened is that the band had move forward. Gone is the squeezebox Acadiana and Dwight Yoakam rootsy classic country revival sound the Doc Marshalls have been heralded for. But give Look Out, Compadre a serious listening to before making any quick judgments. Like the previous Doc Marshall releases, the song writing on Look Out, Compadre is outstanding. Song writer and band leader, Nick Beaudoing has always been able to bridge articulate, at times riveting, lyrics with the traditional sounds of country. The band’s new open folk Americana sound allows Nick space to expand his writing in a way that allows the music to grow and intertwine around the story he is crafting. Listen to the record’s opener, Here They Come, for an example. Nick starts with a a single guitar strum and vocal,

“Look out, Compadre, there’s glass on the ground. They have us surrounded it won’t be long now.”

The band then steps in with a nuanced distorted electric guitar performance by Josh Kaufan that aptly provides apprehension to Nick’s lyrics of foreboding.

“They have guns trained on every window that’s facing the east and the west, sunrise and sunset.”

The band continues to subtly ramp up the impression of anticipation and unease reflecting the feelings of the storied soldiers.

“And they’ve rolled up their cannon on top of the hill. Stay away from the wall where the horses were killed. And you wait for my signal, the ole’ kettle drum. Let it rip when I scream here they come, here they come, here they…”

It is here that the band kicks in with strong portentous electric guitar for four solid measures to intimate the last stand. This type of song craftsmanship where music and lyric interplay together without the denouement of the expected chorus just wasn’t possible with the tidy verse-chorus type of writing that comes with more traditional country music.

Similar writing and arrangements continue through the record with songs such as Kernow as it dynamically fluctuates toward and away from the listener, even breaking down to just guitar and Rhoades piano at one point, When I Wake which has enough discordant guitar playing to make Lee Renaldo smile and All At Once with its distinctive varied vocal delivery. Each song on this disc allows the instrumentation, melody and lyrics to act as partners in providing the listener a strong storied experience.

Look Out Compadre’s cover art is of a cannon surrounded with smoke and flames firing out at some unknown target outside of disc’s frame. Sometimes to break with the past one must destroy it and the easy interpretation of the artwork is to view the cannonball being fired at the band’s previous musical self. Of course, every cannon provides recoil, a kick back while being fired. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Look Out, Compadre and appreciate how distinct it is from the previous incarnation of the Doc Marshalls. The musicianship is outstanding and supports the excellent song writing. Yet, I must admit, I do hope some of the old band kicks back in the next release. The Doc Marshalls are just too good at the two-step to bid it permanent farewell. Until then, Look Out, Compadre will be my new friend.

KING STORK is your host. They are four dudes (matt oliver, dan schneier, robbie whelan and phantom williams) who play single-coil pickup guitars through aging amps, smack out hustle beats and psychy jams and sing what we imagine, in private moments, to be lush, three-part vocal harmonies. Joining them onstage will be several talented friends, including pedal steel maestro Glenn Spivack, accordion-tickler Sean “HotFingers” McComiskey and tasteful fiddler-around-town Skye Steele. You’ll dance, you’ll cry, you’ll sweat, you’ll scream.

WHALE BELLY is the brain-baby of “Uncle” Todd Bogin, one of Brooklyn’s finest, most poetic troubadingos. He writes songs that are sometimes gritty, sometime make you hungry, sometimes break your heart. There will be guitars. A fiddle. Bass, drums. That kind of thing. The music will reel you in, charm you, satisfy you thoroughly for about three weeks, forget about your birthday, then unceremoniously dump you. That’s a joke, folks, this relationship was built to last.

SIX DEADLY VENOMS play breakneck Brooklyn bluegrass. Elio Schiavo sings like a laid-off cowboy, and picks a mean mandolin. Grant Gordy sits in tonight on guitar. Jared Engel (bass), Todd Livingston (dobro), Bennet Sullivan (banjo) and Nick Reeb (fiddle) round out the mix. This is the Brooklyn Hi-Fi Lonesome Sound, people. Get hip to it!

I’LL BE JOHN BROWN honks and tonks and brings it all back home, generally speaking. Jason Gambrell’s vocals, acoustic picking and harp skills are unmatchable. Dante Soriano’s twangy guitar leads cut faster’n a hot knife through butter, like an infernal Marty Stuart. The rhythm battery of Jason Holt, Shoheen Owhady and Craig Stauber hits all the right buttons. These guys alone would be reason to come.

THE NEWTON GANG is Brooklyn’s most prolific, and notorious, Outlaw country band. Helmed by JD Duarte, the band started at the famous Honky Tonk Happy Hour and now plays with some of the best local and touring country talent around. JD is also curator of BrooklynCountry.com, a wonderful community of musicians that you should check out.

Foot stompin’ knee slappin’ butt shakin’ good times. Join in if you enjoy things like fun and awesomeness. See Banjo, Fiddle, Dobro and Guitar get down with block rocking beats and badass rappers. Gangstagrass does it for real. You may know Gangstagrass as the makers for the Emmy Nominated theme song to the hit FX Network show “Justified” or maybe you know them because they took over your porch one day and just started playing. This will be a full throttle bluegrass-hip-hop party so come get down with us. Gangstagrass will be doing their thing with rappers and bluegrass pickers. On the fiddle – Jon West, on the banjo – special guest appearance by Louis Meyers Joining the bluegrass boys will be incredible emcees R-SON, Dolio The Sleuth, Tomasia, T.O.N.E-z and more!

Kamara Thomas and the Ghost Gamblers kick things of with sweet harmonies and twangy guitars. Trust us, you have to see the cosmic Americana country-soul thing the Ghost Gamblers do live. The Ghost Gamblers create a sonic world with the echoes and influences of Fleetwood Mac, The Band, spirituals, hymns, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, The Doors, Tom Petty, The Grateful Dead, mountain-songs and Native American shamanism. A myriad of intricate vocal harmonies and multi-instrumental adventures lilt over southern, folk-rock, country-soul, and dreamy pop grooves. In other words, satisfaction guaranteed.

Don’t miss this rare team-up of Brooklyn Country talent invading Manhattan at the awesome Mercury Lounge. Space is limited to get your tickets now!

Welcome to our spring Brooklyn City Limits. This month features Josh Harty from North Dakota, visiting songwriter Susan Cattaneo from New England, outlaw country band The Newton Gang, and the godfather of Brooklyn Country- Uncle Leon and the Alibis!

Josh Harty is a messenger, a North Dakota songsmith whose lyrics fill the dark spots between the lines of our lives. Nowhere is his latest album and if the disc’s reception and his performance of the new material in the United Kingdom are signs, Harty is poised to go a long, long way. We welcome him to Brooklyn City Limits. He kicks of the night with an acoustic set at 8pm.

Passion, drive, and great writing – these adjectives define the music and life of Susan Cattaneo. Raised in the farm country of New Jersey, Susan found her place in the musical world at an early age, singing six-part harmony with her family around the dinner table. After stints in bands in college, she spent a year in Italy, where she studied Italian and performed a mix of standards and traditional Roman songs in various piano bars in Rome. Hired by the Berklee songwriting department upon graduation, Susan spent a few years splitting her time between teaching, raising two kids, and writing in Nashville. Susan will host a Songwriting Workshop at Jalopy Theatre on the afternoon of March 16.

Headlining the BCL is Brooklyn Country founder and all-around bad ass Uncle Leon. He’s backed by The Alibis, a ragtag group of down-on-their-luck musicians lifted from the wreckage by Uncle Leon himself. With a voice rich and serene, Uncle Leon transforms a music venue into a place of worship, sure to get you on your feet and clapping for more. Read the review of Uncle Leon and the Alibi’s Wild Ways on the sidebar to the right.

The Newton Gang continue their mission to support the local Brooklyn country scene and introduce audiences to amazing visiting acts. Their latest CD “encapsulates the perfect day-drinking ethos…perfect with that shot of bourbon and ice cold can of beer”. Join them for a special night of amazing songwriters.

TOMBSTONE

Rating: R
Run Time: 150 minutes
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Starring: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe and Dana Delany, and narrated by Robert Mitchum
Format: 35mm
Year: 1993
Language: English
Age Policy: 18 and up

In March, Country Brunchin’ is all about the old American West with 1993′s Tombstone and live pre-show serenade by The Newton Gang.

Tombstone is Hollywood’s historical depiction of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Crime, corruption, the law and the outlaw collide as former lawman Wyatt Earp, his two brothers, and Doc Holliday head on West for a new life in Tombstone, Arizona for a peaceful retirement. Unfortunately, the Canton Brothers have different plans so Earp and Co. have to the sort of band of outsiders they’d put away while working as “the man.”

About COUNTRY BRUNCHIN’

Mosey on over to Nitehawk the first weekend of every month to get your Southern-style music, movie, and food fix with Country Brunchin’! Each Country Brunchin’ event begins with a thirty-minute set of the sweet live sound of local country bands and is then followed by the most high octane, emotionally moving, six shootin’, car chasin’, down and dirty movies all set below the Mason Dixon line. And did we mention the food? We’ll be serving up a heart-breaker of a Southern menu with items like Chicken Fried Steak every week so tasty you’ll think you died and went to Publix.

The Bell House was fantastic, from our sound engineer to all the bartenders, will call, security, and staff that catered to the crowd of 400. There were so many folks involved taht I didn’t get a chance to thank everyone individually.

Special thanks to Jeff and the Sixpoint Brewery for their sponsorship of the Brooklyn County Fair and their Honky Tonk Happy Hour kicking off the night. It’s wonderful to have a local brewery so closely involved with our music scene. Their support and enthusiasm is greatly appreciated.

All that said, the success of the Brooklyn County Fair lies on the bands participating. Each band has been burning it up Throughout the Brooklyn Country scene as well as receiving national recognition and put on a wonderful show.

Roosevelt Dime brought an energy that got people dancing right from the start. Their blend of horns, harmonies, and jug-band esthetic into the 21st century is truly something special.

Gangstagrass received the kind of response I’ve seen bands get at Madison Square Garden, definitely comfortable in the spotlight both on and off stage. Innovators and motivators, their hip-hop/bluegrass hybrid has been described a “game changer” at the local and national level.

The Hollows are arguably the next band to break out of New York. Their live show has such a high energy and variety in song styles, folks were screaming for more until the wee hours.

We hope to continue to bring you Brooklyn’s most exciting country bands. Thanks for your support.