Enid James, CSN November 17, 2019
Chick Singer Night of Boston just turned in another successful event. Last weekend’s Sunday Acoustic Brunch at The Burren in Somerville, Massachusetts packed the music room with fans while offering a huge variety of singer-songwriters during a two hour show. The Burren has one of the best community vibes in the greater-Boston music scene, and that setting contributed to the comfortable atmosphere for fans and singers.
Chick Singer Night co-director Marcia J. Ridings Macres opened the show with support from Joseph Musella on acoustic guitar. Macres had to kneel on a handicap scooter in front of the stage because a recent foot surgery left her unable to stand. Showing that the show goes on, Macres delivered a set of singer-songwriter material with an old school chanteuse approach. Her torch singer style was smooth as velvet. Her take on “Love Me Like A Man” let her show more bluesy, soulful touches. Her sustains drawled out a bold and large blues feeling, supported by Muscella who picked a juicy blues melody on his acoustic. Singing down tempo on Nora Jones’s “The Nearness Of You,” Macres got to milk her vocal notes for all the emotion they were worth. Her sudden widening and brightening of voice injected the song with heart. Macres also sang a lilting vocal melody with Sam Cooke’s “That’s It. I Quit. I’m Moving on,” making one hear and feel the motion of this number with the motion in her voice.
Youth showcase artist Sofia Dolan wrapped her voice around lyrics and tuneful melodies in a way that showed promise. Her vocal phrasing was on the mark and her keyboard notes punctuated the rhythms in her song just right. Likewise, Grace Ferguson, the second youth showcase performer, sang sharp, skillful vocal lines. Both young women could develop their vocal lines with shifting dynamics, using the gears that the better singers use to manage timbre, color, tone, and emotion.
Singer-songwriter Sharon Sky, from Sky And Korn, Midtown Horns, and The Mooseheads, came up next to offer an original and some covers. A classically trained vocalist, Sky performed her number “Teddy Bear” with festive jazz-pop feeling. She moved her voice around the melody well, a melody picked by Raleigh Green on his acoustic six string. A slight sultriness and a ton of sass carried her song, right up until a whispery finish. On The Zuton’s “Valerie” in which she contrasted well her silky, rangy voice with a fast, flinty guitar line, Sky kept its soulful urgency front and center. Breathy, smooth, Sky rode the melody to “Higher Than The Moon” with a beautiful self-restraint.
Laura Brereton, Raleigh Green
Up next was Laura Brereton, an area singer-songwriter and owner, instructor at Medford Music Studio. Brereton also utilized Raleigh Green as her support player, a sideman that she’s sort of stuck with, as she has been married to him and raising children with him for several years. She launched into her original “Your Love Is Like The Rain” with a sudden burst of of vocal energy that seemed to come out of nowhere. First, there was nothing. Then, bang, a universe of a song was expanding. Her timbre was naturally suited to this piece written somewhat like an old time blues number. Another of her originals, “Rocket To The Moon,” found her keeping things balanced, with her phrasing, between easeful delivery and strong emotional inflection. Brereton employed an earthy finesse to a Johnny Cash inspired train of hers called “He’ll Come Back.” This one forced Brereton to sing a lot of words quickly, installing a panorama of images of rugged individual life to a nimbly picked melodic line from Green that traveled like speedy tumbleweed.
There was a special singer on the program for Sunday afternoon’s presentation at The Burren. Enid Ames has one of those voices that other singers can only dream of possessing. There is an extra shine, and extra sharpness, a uniqueness to her vocal phrasing. Her natural timbre sounded fantastic, and her range seemed unlimited. Her song “My Friend,” an ode to someone who miraculously defied medical expectations, was delivered with true elegance. She accented each vocal note while making her voice slide through the song like her voice was on a rail. Accompanied by a young man named Caleb on electric piano, Ames’s voice was a fine tuned instrument on her cover of “What A Wonderful World.”
Jennifer Truesdale, Joe Musella
Chick Singer Night’s amicable co-director Jennifer Truesdale closed out this Burren Acoustic Brunch event. Playing a few numbers from her new Through The Circle album, Truesdale started with her original “Thinking Of You,” her phrasing putting a lot of emphasis on her song’s emotive qualities as she impressed with clarity and breadth of notes. The singer reached wonderful heights when her voice went high, sustained over the support from Musella’s fluid line of acoustic notes. Truesdale added only a hint of rasp to “I Need You Tonight” which worked well with Musella’s roots flavored acoustic six string work. She rode the range of “Angel From Montgomery,” rising about the bar band cliché with inflection, making it authentic, roots flavored. Truesdale closed out her set with an “unfinished” piece titled “Coming Home.” Her vocal line, sturdy, durable, and lovely with sustains, carried the listener through it’s well written changes.
The variety of women singers at last Sunday afternoon’s show fleshed out the Chick Singer Night Acoustic Sunday Brunch with a wide assortment of musical genres and vocal styles. It was hard to believe that that much talent was offered in a two hour show. Everything ran smoothly, and the The Burren’s vibe make it a comfortable, music community happening.
www.chicksingernight.com/chapters/boston
