STREETS OF LAREDO PACK THEM IN AT MERCURY LOUNGE

It only took a few minutes for indie-folk band Streets of Laredo to get a packed Mercury Lounge into their music on Wednesday. Only a few times did singer/guitarist Daniel Gibson take some time to joke around and talk with the audience, which didn’t seem to bother anyone as going straight from song to song kept people dancing and really into their new style of indie-folk music that could pass for a mix between Kurt Vile and Alberta Cross.

The local New York band (originally from New Zealand) is currently on tour in support of their debut album Volume I & II, which came out earlier this month. The group covered tunes that are all over the album including ‘Girlfriend’, ‘Slow Train’, and the brilliantly written ‘Laredo’. The mix of Daniel’s gritty, Bob Dylan-sounding voice with co-vocalist Sarahjane Gibson’s softer more innocent style of singing mixed for a perfect layering to go over the guitars, trumpets, and harmonica instrumentation.

The hour-long set was nothing but a loose and fun performance of great songwriting and musical collaboration between the members of the seven-piece band. Overall the group presented that close knit family vibe of old folk-style music with modern elements that made for a fantastic display of songwriting and bringing a great new album to life on stage.

Article by: Tom Shackleford

Photos by: Nicholas Fallon