Here are musician Ken Beasley’s top music picks on the Lower East Side this week:
New York based Jaana Kantola and Paula Jaakkola, of the Finnish/America duo Kaiku, are releasing their second recording, Usva, which means “mist” in Finnish. Like a mist, their perfectly paired, jazzy harmonies float over and under and all around, carrying lyrics softly sung in Spanish, English, Finnish, and French. Catch them at Fat Baby for a cocktail-sipping, close-your-eyes kind of listening experience.
Fat Baby (112 Rivington, between Essex & Ludlow) | 8pm | FREE
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DAVID GARZA – The Mercury Lounge – Friday, April 9
Austin powerhouse David Garza comes to town with a set at the Mercury Lounge. Garza’s aggressive mix of rock, electronic, latin pop, and old fashioned Texas grit has shot him from busking obscurity straight to the top of the musical heap, now collaborating with the likes of Juliana Hatfield, Fiona Apple, and living legend John Paul Jones. Garza was once awarded a full college scholarship for classical guitar, which makes the fact that he rocks the stage like a demon all the more bad-ass.
Mercury Lounge (217 East Houston) | 715pm | $15
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JAMES MADDOCK – Rockwood Music Hall – Saturday, April 10
If Englishman James Maddock had only his guitar skills to offer, it would still be enough reason to catch him at Rockwood this weekend. His musical phrases are expertly placed and delivered, and always seem to be the perfect, organic match for the song and mood he has his audience entranced in at any particular moment. But his finely honed songwriting skills, not to mention his utterly fantastic raspy, old-soul voice, are genuinely top-notch, too.
Rockwood Music Hall (196 Allen, between Houston & Stanton) | 9pm | FREE
Splitting his time between performing and producing, contributor Ken Beasley primarily plays with his own roots/rock band, Ken Beasley & Co., as well as the power punk outfit Missy Sport, while also curating the Underground at the Abrons music series on the Lower East Side.
