Here are musician Ken Beasley’s top music picks on the Lower East Side this weekend:
CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS – Friday, Oct. 15 at 7:30pm
No two ways about it – the Chocolate Drops are the real deal. Brought up in the south (mostly the Carolinas), this string-band trio is following in the footsteps of their mentor, none other than fiddle legend Joe Thompson. Everything from their melodies to their recording techniques screams authenticity, and one would never know that rather than a group of weathered, sun-beaten musicians on a swamp-facing back porch, the sounds are actually coming from three young, hip, vivacious musicologists that simply love traditional old-time music.
$20 advance, $23 door // The Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey Street)
DAVID BERKELEY – Saturday, Oct. 16 at 9pm
David Berkeley follows a long tradition of sensitive singer/songwriters. Having been compared to the likes of Nick Drake and Tim Buckley, now sitting comfortably amidst contemporaries like Iron and Wine and Devandra Banhart, Berkeley doesn’t stray too far from the proven formula. That being said, he has certainly earned his place among those top introspective troubadours, and his recordings have drawn praise and press from Rolling Stone and the NY Times just to name a few. His lyrics are smart, but not slick, and his delivery is soft, but not quiet. Turn the lights down low, and make sure your choices are either red wine or whiskey.
$12 // The Livingroom (154 Ludlow Street)
THE TWEES – Sunday, Oct. 17 at 8pm
The Twees are young and they haven’t been together long, but they sure do make up for lost time. Their website reads that they play “fun, hip, cocky rock-n-roll,” but I’d say that that is merely scratching the surface of what they actually embody. One could easily mistake their sound for early 80’s British pop-itude. The kind of stuff Martha Quinn would have drawn pictures of in her trapper keeper. Check them out at Pianos at 8pm.
$8 // Pianos (158 Ludlow Street)
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.
