Starting the weekend off in style, three talented singer/songwriters came together at 89 North in Patchogue, NY on Saturday February 1st for an evening of music. Known for supporting the local music scene, 89 North has been established 2 years as a key contributor to the revived arts and culture of Long Island. A generous crowd gathered early within the intimately mood lighten hall to see a bill of Emily Kinney, Alice Lee, and Christine Holt.
First to grace the stage was local Long Island talent Christine Holt. With a strong passion for music, Holt graduated from Berklee and is now looking to ignite her young and ambitious career of singing and songwriting. Taking the stage with just an acoustic guitar, all eyes were on the singer as she played a series of original tunes while mixing in some covers. Holt’s style can best be described as acoustic pop-rock, infusing various forms of music. With an unconventional approach to some of her own material, Holt even brought a hip hop flavor to the stage, which was executed graciously in a tasteful matter. With a dynamic range, Holt pulls no punches while singing and the emotion in her delivery is sincere and right from her heart. While still relatively undiscovered, Holt kept the audience’s attention through the duration of her showcase, which says a lot for her talent and ability to solely take the spot light. Her set closed out nicely with one of her final numbers being a cover of The Calling’s hit “Wherever You Will Go”. This provided to be a great addition to the performance, as Holt embraced the track and made it her own. Her debut EP Ex Marks The Spot is available on iTunes now.
Next up was Chicago native Alice Lee. Now residing in New York City, Lee is pursuing her music career further after attending NYU and having appeared in Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark”. Young, energetic, and theatrical, Lee took the stage rocking out a series of original tunes. Her music is cool pop-rock with a jazzy feel and catchy vocal hooks. Her soothing hip singing smoothly transitioned between upbeat pop-rock and soulful ballads, keeping things interesting throughout. With the audience of 89 North’s undivided attention, Lee was all smiles while moving about the stage like a seasoned performer. Lyrically, Lee’s songs have positive relate-able subject matter, leaving you feeling carefree and relaxed. Making the most of her time on stage, she received a series of applauds from the crowd. Watching Lee perform leaves an impression of an artist with an intangible knack for the stage, which will make it exciting to watch her career develop.
Briefly following an intermission, the headlining act Emily Kinney was ready to take the stage. Originally from Nebraska, Kinney’s acting career began in 2007 and really took off with her role as Beth Greene in AMC’s The Walking Dead. Now a key character in one of North America’s most popular series, Kinney continues to pursue her singing and songwriting while living in New York City. While in between shooting the upcoming season of The Walking Dead, Kinney has been working on her next album and giving anxious fans the opportunity to see her perform live at select venues.
Kinney walked on stage with her acoustic guitar and the same talented backing band which performed with Alice Lee a set earlier. Her cheerful attitude immediately rubbed off on the audience and smiles were contagious through the room. Kinney proceeded to play a series of her own music showered in emotion and her experiences in life. Showing sincerity as an artist and songwriter, Kinney communicated with the audience on a personal level telling back-stories of each song and making herself an open book not only curious to be read but to indulged in. Her voice was sweet, full, and vibrant, as her charisma illuminated the room. Tracks like “Married” were sorrowful and beautiful while songs like “Julie” had to make you smile with the clever lyrical sense of humor.
Her set moved along at a steady pace and there was never a dull moment throughout. Kinney proves to be a romantic at heart and that clearly reflects in her music and the live performance. Her words painted vivid imagery as melodies surrounded them, adding depth and texture. The set closed out with the beautiful thoughtful song entitled “Masterpiece”.
Emily Kinney undoubtedly has a wide range of talents with a blossoming acting career, her music career is sure to follow. If you appreciate the talents of real life songwriting and beauty of the vocal instrument and all it has to offer, Kinney is definitely worth listening to. It’s not too often intimate musical experiences, such as these, create an aura that 89 North displayed on this wonderful Saturday night.
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