Tonight was spent sitting at a table in 12th and Porter. Unheard of!!!
Kicking off the evening were Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb, husband and wife artist who mentioned that their time on stage was the first that they had been able to talk all day. In the midst of the set, Sandra reveled that she is four months pregnant.
Hearing about this couple for a long time through friends, I really wanted to enjoy their presentation more than I did. Maybe it was the build-up I had in my head from others that let me down or maybe it was how many times I counted Sandra saying “I’m Sorry” to Derek that marred the performance. A friend in attendance also brought this little observation up, so that let me know that I was not imagining it. All in all, I would like to sit in on a solo set from Sandra McCracken; she seems to have an observer’s eye which she translates almost effortlessly to the strings of her guitar.
Next up was California resident, Kyler England who was backed by Cincinnati duo, Ellery (Justin and Tasha Golden). England’s set was filled with enjoyable Acoustic Americana styled pop and cheerful stage banter. She mentioned a full length CD in the making as soon as her husband returns home from working with Prince…yeah, that royal one.
Not normally a fan of whisky voiced singers, I was captured by Matthew Ryan in a very strange set in which the sound engineer seemed to be having a beef with the night. Ryan’s sound and poetry survived amid an evening replete with sound issues and pissing contest.
After the set, I was able to acquire a copy of his latest release, “Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver States” and have found that if I put it in my cd player, it remains on for most of the evening. I hope to research his back catalog soon.
Ending the evening was reformed band, My Tyger, featuring Sam Ashworth with a set full of toe-tapping rock melodies accompanying Ashworth’s soulful vocals.
A pretty good way to begin the Fest.
Peace,
zss
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