It's a bit of a musical gamble: a girl, her voice, and her harp. But the folks at Drag City records are betting on Joanna Newsom.
Newsom is a young, twenty-something harpist from San Francisco. The music is lush and delicate, and as refined as you'd expect given her over 10 years of training on the instrument. Her vocals, on the otherhand, are a tougher sell: girlish and soft at times, but fluctuating to what some may describe as "grating". Gothamist stumbled across Newsom's song, "Sadie", and we were sold.
If you're curious about Newsom and her music, you can catch a live performance at the Seaport Music Festival. She plays tonight with The Hold Steady, after having wrapped up a two-month tour in support of her new album, The Milk-Eyed Mender. If you require further convincing, listen to these songs from Newsom's website:
Bridges and Balloons
Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie.
En Gallop!
Sprout and the Bean [music video]
Gothamist hopes to be at the Seaport tonight, because we're into Newsom and we like free shows. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the weather holds, so we don't have to stand out in the rain again.
