Po' Girl is a modern-day troupe of musical nomads, following their bliss without compromise. Formed from far-flung musical elements, and honed in the crucible of constant touring over the past few years, Allison Russell, Awna Teixiera, Benny Sidelinger and Mikey "Lightning" August have beaten themselves into musical gold through sheer, bloody determination and a headstrong love of the musician's life.
The band hones its skills playing 250 to 300 live dates a year. An international sensation, Po' Girl has developed a fan base across four continents and 13 countries with their powerful, passionate and spirited live shows. They are equally at home playing the Massao World Music Festival in Cameroon, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival or the Woodford Music Festival in Australia. In short, it's impossible to put this band into a tidy little box.
Po' Girl makes 21st-century roots music and melds an unerring ear for an Americana-meets-blues and folk sensibility with the creamy wail of a clarinet, plus an array of instruments from gutbucket bass to banjo, to dobro and accordion, and mesmerizing harmonies and original lyrics. Their music offers full-throated and joyful celebrations of being alive at this very moment, sly and come-hither teases, and songs that breathe faint dreams of home and little acts of self-rescue.
There are whimsical ditties and unflinchingly bitter narratives of betrayal and harm. Always down in the bone, there runs the marrow of music and rhythm, and the joy that comes from the simple knowledge of the music's existence.
"Follow Your Bliss" is the fifth studio album from Po' Girl and is packed with songs of love, longing and desire that swing from Americana to jazz and folk to pop with all the usual flair that's expected from this talented four-piece. Opener "Kathy" is the perfect vehicle for the wonderful vocals of Allison Russell, resplendent in its breathy dusky tones, and shows a progression in the band's sound from their last album, "Deer in the Night."
The country blues of "When We Are Love" is a soulful and joyous affair brought to life by the dobro of Benny Sidelinger and the guitar of Dan Abu Absi. Producer Zack Goheen provides a warmth to the newfound maturity of the band's songwriting. Highlights include the accordion and brass driven title track, the Parisian zydeco of "Maudite Guerre," the understated beauty of "Go Easy," and the haunting "Benediction."
"With enough sultry ambiance to be at home in either a cocktail lounge or New Orleans street corner, Po' Girl features a simple, polished production of wistful, plaintively slurred vocals over a sparse yet warm jazz-folk accompaniment of guitar, stand-up bass, harmonica, banjo and clarinet," said Rolling Stone. "They manage to maintain that traditional and nostalgic sound while breathing fresh life into an old-fashioned genre."
Po' Girl with Peter Mulvey
8 p.m. March 23
The Ark ($15)
316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor
http://www.theark.org
