The Milk Carton Kids play the Bowery Ballroom on Sunday, May 19. (Photo: Brendan Pattengale)

Right. So, for any ladies out there doubting that it’s completely possible to fall in love more than thrice in the span of a week … you’re about to be proved wrong, times six (or times some other number … this isn’t real math).

Allow me to explain: Sam Amidon, Father John Misty, Josh Ritter, any of the Felice Brothers, both of the Milk Carton Kids, and Father John Misty. Oh, and any of the guys in Seryn. And Father John Misty.

Possibly the cuddliest and funniest of them all (read as: Father John Misty isn’t exactly cuddly, am I right?) are the fellas who make up MCK. Oh and it gets better, it gets better. If you’ve never heard their sound, you CAN on Sunday at the Bowery Ballroom. Come check ‘em out in a space well-suited for their harmonies … and I’ll provide the drool rags. Take a look-see at their recent appearance on Conan, below:

More must-see shows:

Thursday, May 16
8:00 p.m. — Sam Amidon at le poisson rouge
9:30 p.m. – Kopecky Family Band / Matrimony at Mercury Lounge

Friday, May 17
8:00 p.m. — Father John Misty / Jessica Pratt at Maxwell’s

Saturday, May 18
All Day — Matt & Kim (Nethermead Stage), Jovanotti (Nethermead Stage), Father John Misty (Nethermead Stage), Sharon Van Etten (Nethermead Stage), Lee Fields & The Expressions (Nethermead Stage), Red Baraat (Joe’s Pub Stage), Pearl & The Beard (Joe’s Pub Stage), Jonathan Batiste (Joe’s Pub Stage), Banda De Los Muertos (Joe’s Pub Stage), Lady Rizo (Joe’s Pub Stage) at Prospect Park for Googa Mooga
7:00 p.m. — Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band / The Felice Brothers at Terminal 5

Sunday, May 19
7:00 p.m. — Seryn at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2
8:00 p.m. — The Milk Carton Kids / The Barefoot Movement at Bowery Ballroom

Howard Fishman – Photo by Michael Benanav

The story of Connie Converse is one that’s hard to swallow. Converse, a much overlooked yet extremely talented 1950s New York singer songwriter, disappeared in 1974 after writing goodbye letters to her friends and family. To this day, no one knows where she is or even if she’s alive.

Connie Converse

If it wasn’t for the recordings by upstate New York music engineer Gene Deitch, Converse might have been lost and forgotten. Deitch, who also recorded folks like Pete Seegar, taped Converse in his kitchen in the mid-1950s. Soon after, he booked her on Walter Cronkite’s “The Morning Show” on CBS, but she never gained any commercial appeal. By the mid 70s, a depressed Converse disappeared “to start a new life somewhere” and was never heard from again. Years later, Deitch was interviewed in a 2004 broadcast of WNYC’s Spinning on Air with David Garland and played one of Converse’s songs, compelling some connected and abled listeners to build an album of her recordings.  How Sad, How Lovely (Amazon MP3 & Spotify) was released five years later in 2009 and was the only album by Converse to see the light of day. That year, Deitch again appeared on WNYC to dive deep Converse’s story and music.

This Wednesday, my friend and “Brooklyn Orleans” jazz/folk/bluegrass/roots musician Howard Fishman will dedicate a set to Converse at Joe’s Pub, playing her songs accompanied by a few other performers. Over the weekend, I emailed with Fishman about why he chose to center his latest project on Converse and what we can expect the show to be like. Here’s what he said:

“I think it’s more accurate to say that Connie chose me, and not the other way around. Once I became aware of her music, I couldn’t stop listening to it, and wanting to know more about the person behind it…I tracked down people who knew her via phone and email, I began a voluminous correspondence with her brother and sister-in-law (that resulted in my going to visit them in Michigan and spending time with Connie’s letters and diaries), I became obsessed. I think she deserves a place at the table with the great 20th century songwriters, and I think her story is a mirror for us to look in as Americans as far what we value, how we define success, and how we treat “outsiders” in our midst.

The songs we perform in the show are relatively faithful to the originals, with some explorations here and there. My trio is the house band, and I take turns singing the songs with four other, very different, female singers: Anastasia Barzee, Charlotte Mundy, Susan Oetgen and Jean Rohe.  Some of the songs we’re performing have never been heard before.”

Tickets for the show are still available.

Joy Kills Sorrow – Photo by Shervin Lainez

Earlier today I scored an early copy of Wide Awake, the forthcoming seven-song EP from Joy Kills Sorrow, the Boston (and Brooklyn and Portland, ME) -based stringband that headlined the grass clippings holiday hootenanny in December. The band will release their latest project on June 4^th and hits the road for a national tour later this month.

Even after just a couple listens I can easily say that the EP represents my favorite work from the band. Brilliant instrumentation across the board laced with the stunning vocals of Canadian-born front woman Emma Beaton.

American Songwriter debuted the band’s rendition of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights,” which the group has played at shows for a while and will make the new EP. It’s badass. Here she is…

Balthrop, Alabama brings their musical pin-drop to Littlefield on Saturday. (Photo by Bernie DeChant)

There may not be the normal slew of local shows to write home about this week, but there is a BK set by a new band that should be cause for alarm. The good kind of alarm, that is. Balthrop, Alabama is a town that is a band … or maybe, it’s a band that is a town. Whatever it is, there are about a dozen Balthropers in whole, founded by a brother-sister duo who moved to Brooklyn in 2006 and started making pretty tunes like the one below. Their sound conjures up a tonal image of Of Monsters and Men, but is sated with softer ramblings reminiscent of First Aid Kit. You can check them out in person at Littlefield this fine weekend.

Also, the Downtown Festival visits Rockwood Music Hall on Friday, bringing with it the lovely Anais Mitchell and another group I’m finding it quite worthwhile to familiarize myself with – Port St. Willow.

Wednesday, May 8
8 p.m. – Steve Earle and the Dukes / The Mastersons at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Thursday, May 9
8 p.m. – Lily and The Parlor Tricks / Jessica Hernandez and The Deltas / Raccoon Fighter / Jeremy Freer at Cake Shop
8 p.m. – Lake Street Dive at Maxwell’s

Friday, May 10
8 p.m. – Coco Rosie at Paper Box
8 p.m. – Wooly and the Mammoth (12:30am) / Port St. Willow (11pm) / Anais Mitchell (10pm) at Rockwood Music Hall for Downtown Festival

Saturday, May 11
8 p.m. – Balthrop, Alabama / Chris Mills / Nova Social

Tall Heights

In celebration of their first full-length album debut, Boston folk duo Tall Heights plays this Saturday, May 4^th at the 92Y Tribeca with our friend Anthony da Costa and Caitlin Canty rounding out the night.

Man of Stone, which is officially due out May 14^th, follows two EPs from the band who has gained a New England following through touring over the last few years and regular performances at Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Here’s “Somewhere I Believe,” which is off the new record, recorded in the band’s Kitchen Session last winter in Somerville.

The Flannel Attractions

There are more attractions in Jackson Hole than the ones on postcards.

For example, The Jackson Hole Hootenanny, a decades-old Wyoming gathering that has seen visits from folks like John Denver and Peter Rowan, is also the birthplace of the young and burgeoning Rocky Mountain band The Flannel Attractions.

The band of Boston, Chicago and Nashville transplants released its debut self-titled (and self-produced) EP (Amazon MP3, Spotify & Bandcamp) in February, which I’ve been listening to over the last couple weeks. It really just took one listen to the EP’s closing song, “Next September,” to win me over.  An indie folk feel with a traditional bluegrass instrumentation mix and stunning mountain harmonies.

The Flannel Attractions are currently touring through Colorado, Montana and Idaho, but are hopeful to jump on the festival circuit soon. We’ll be watching these guys.

The Whiskey Collection: (left to right) Cameron Scoggins, Kyle Brightwell, Russell Durham, Alex Jenkins, Corey Gerstenfeld.

Given that I like bourbon and rye whiskey almost as much as the music I listen to while I drink it, it wasn’t too hard for me to fall in love with The Whiskey Collection when I first saw them play a late show at the Rockwood Music Hall in 2011. The band, which Stef and I have each written about here, met at Juilliard a few years back and released their self-titled debut EP in 2010. Since then, the band has played shows here and there around town, but few and far between as its members have each been busy with other projects.

However, this week TWC released Letters from an Old Trunk (Amazon MP3, Spotify & Bandcamp), a new album produced with guidance from Dan Knobler and Jon Seale of Mason Jar Music, to which we have much respect. Letters maintains the band’s southern-mountain-meets-music-school style set by its first EP, but with a bit more polish and a sound that falls somewhere near Ben Sollee. Songs like “No Man’s Land” and “Johnny” showcase the band’s soul, great instrumentation and powerful builds – not over the top Mumford & Sons style, but more gentle, natural ones that are set against fine songwriting and the memorable voice of Cameron Scoggins.  Others catchy tunes like “Little Maggie” will keep the band’s rep for fun, lively shows going strong.  Here’s a taste…

Feist

Year after year, the Newport Folk Festival lineup represents the best of what we love and the best of what we hoped to discover. This year, follows suit. While I’ve been somewhat distracted by my global tour, the Festival has been wrapping up their major lineup announcements (a few late additions are expected). Here’s a bit of commentary on some of the latest news (albeit a bit late)…

• Joe Fletcher & The Low Anthem Presents – we’re not sure exactly how this will look, but Joe Fletcher will be celebrating some of our favorite Nashville artists with a special lineup of some of our favorites like Andrew Combs and Amanda Shires. Meanwhile, Providence-based The Low Anthem’s Ben Knox Miller will be highlighting some of Rhode Island’s burgeoning artists with Newport Homegrown.
• Beck & Feist Join the Lineup – There’s a fair amount of pop on the lineup this year, which is nothing new…perhaps a bit more than before. However, I’m fine with it…and even excited about almost all of it. I last saw Beck on the Two Turntables and a Microphone tour the week I graduated from high school back in 1998. It was awesome…and the first time I moshed. I hope (and expect) that’ he’ll bring a more acoustic-based set to the festival, but looking forward to it either way. Hello, Feist!
• Evening Shows – In place of the Festival’s annual Backstage BBQ Benefit, which was flooded by a massive downpour last year, Dawes will be playing benefit performances WITH FRIENDS at The Pickens Theater on Friday and Saturday nights. This should make for some pretty epic sit-ins with other artists. Meanwhile, Deer Tick will again host their annual evening set at the Newport Blues Café. Telluride has always done a great job with the evening shows and this is great for Newport.

It’s hard to say who I’m most excited to see on the lineup, but it’s safe to say that our minute-by-minute guide to the Festival will involve a lot of running around. With its growth in profile (and in length), Newport could have gone a lot of different ways, but these additions are keeping the festival on the straight and narrow path of respectable decision making – something that larger festivals haven’t frequently made.

If you haven’t made time to watch Ryan Mastro’s mini-documentary of the 2013 festival, you should turn from your shortsighted sinful behavior and do so NOW. Tickets for Friday are still available, but the rest of the Festival is sold out.

Ed Helms – Photo by Lincoln Andrew DeFer

Our agoraphobia has historically been a bit of a deterrent from Bonnaroo attendance, but our good (probably best) friends at The Bluegrass Situation are working to making the massive festival a better place.

Last week, the site announced a new stage at the festival curated by TBS cofounder Ed Helms. Helms will perform a comedy, concert and variety show with his band on Saturday, June 15^th at the festival, which he describes as a “Prairie Home Companion on crystal meth.” THEN, on Sunday, June 16^th Helms will emcee the first ever Bluegrass Situation stage featuring Brooklyn’s Aoife O’donovan, Oklahoma’s John Fullbright, Portland’s Black Prairie, a DAMNFINE duo of Del McCoury and Sam Bush, and even The Punch Brothers’ Noam Pikelny. Helms promises that the day will conclude with a superjam that “will blow your mind.” I believe him.

Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman

This past weekend at The Brooklyn Folk Festival at The Bell House, I caught up with San Francisco-based Melody Walker and Jacob Groopman following an outstanding set that had the crowd hollerin’ louder than they did all day. The stop in Brooklyn preceded the “Americali Roots” duo’s trip south to MerleFest this coming weekend where they’ll compete in the festival’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest.

Groopman, who grew up a few streets over from me in my hometown of Richmond, VA, and Walker recently released a FREE to download album called Gold Rush Goddess and have since been touring. The duo also performs in Front Country, a fine newgrass band. AND, they’ve got something going on the side (wink, nudge, wink).

Here’s the MerleFest contest finalist song, “Black Grace.” Good luck, guys!