John Carroll Kirby Debuts "Dance Ancestral" at Pico Union Project Release Show
It’s not too often that you get to attend a double album release party (disguised as a show), but the eager fans at the Pico Union Project for John Carroll Kirby were in for a special treat on April 8th, 2022.
Opening the night out with her debut live performance as Vicky Farewell (eagerly introduced by John Carroll Kirby), the crowd was immediately blown away by the talent that took the stage. Backed by an incredible trio including a drummer laying down beats straight out of a 1930s Jazz club, Vicky led with mesmerizing vocals and magical keys. As a classically trained pianist, Vicky played the keys as if she was speaking a fluent romantic language. Starting the night out with chill tones that the crowd could sway to, eventually lead to a dancing crowd as she drew her set to a close. Vicky Farewell released her debut album titled Sweet Company the night of the show, and we absolutely recommend you give it a listen and grab a ticket for the next Vicky Farewell show that hits your town.
The crown was now primed and ready for John Carroll Kirby to take the stage. Starting the set out with a few solo songs including a classical piece on the grand piano and a frogger-inspired synth style song about, you guessed it, frogs, John let the room know that he was just getting started. As his band took the stage with a warm welcome by the crowd as if they were old friends, you could feel the excitement and anticipation of a notch about to be turned up to 11. We were not let down in the slightest. Two flutes and a Tenor Saxophone later, the full band was ready to begin. With a contagious smile on John’s face the entire set, he led the band from his keyboard as if he was conducting a philharmonic orchestra. Whether or not you were expecting it, John Carroll Kirby and his band took the Pico Union project (already the spiritual space of a refurbished church), on a rocketship to funk-town as the set progressed. Solo after solo, John and his band performed old and new (even an unreleased song) that flowed so smoothly that you couldn’t tell if the entire set was completely written note for note, being written on the spot, or a mixture of the two. John Carroll Kirby released his album titled Dance Ancestral the day of the show, and we can’t wait to see it climb the charts.
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