“TAKE SOME melodies, arrange them in interesting ways (soul, folk, country, doo wop, samba, gospel ) and the crowning glory – put two of the best voices in popular music over the top.”
This is how www.americana-uk.com has described the music of Birds of Chicago who play upstairs in the Róisín Dubh on Saturday April 27 at 9pm.
The Birds are a duo featuring the combined talents of JT Nero, from Chicago soul/folk/rock band JT & The Clouds, and Allison Russell of Canadian folk/soul/jazz group Po’ Girl. They have just recorded their eponymously titled debut album and are promoting it with an Irish and British tour.
Russell and Nero’s bands have collaborated extensively, but on 2011’s Mountains/Forests, released under the JT Nero banner, they tapped into the power of their voices together on an entire record.
Nero’s fractured country-soul voice wrapped in Russell’s silver and gold tones has won critical acclaim. The Chicago Sun-Times called them “two of the most compelling new voices in American roots music”; The Telegraph declared “These birds can soar”; while No Depression said this was “Roots music made in heaven”.
Support is from Kate O’Callaghan. Tickets are available at www.roisindubh.net, from the Ticket Desk at OMG, Shop Street (formerly Zhivago ), and The Róisín Dubh.
