The warm and wooly colorful sounds of Brooklyn’s Yarn

Tonight I stumbled into my own little slice of aural heaven, a converted house near my neighborhood that is not only a fabulous bar + dinner joint, but also has a young man who works there and plays Ryan Adams over the house speakers while he works – and rare tracks too, like the Caitlin Cary duet “The Battle.” It made me a bad dinner companion because I kept fixating off into the audio ether, listening to whatever marvelous song he was going to play next. I of course accosted him at the bar after my friends left, and we discussed all manner of things about the music he’d played. Caitlin Cary has been keeping busy since Whiskeytown disbanded with a vibrant solo career, and I was telling my new friend Mike about the latest song I’ve heard her appear on that has snagged my heart.

The heart of Brooklyn isn’t necessarily where you’d expect to find a vibrant, bittersweet Americana-bluegrass band, but those are the streets that Yarn hails from. This six-piece has been making music on the mandolin, harmonia and steel guitar for a handful of years now; I was just recently turned on to their music from a fan who wrote me a long, rambling love letter about this band.

One of the latter tracks on their most recent album Empty Pockets features the unmistakable voice of Caitlin Cary, and was an entrée for me into the rest of their wonderful music. Take some time with the rest of their songs; sometimes sad and wistful (“Turn Your Lights On”), or rambling and spirited.

Five guitars, a place to rest my head — sounds like a real nice way to finish tonight.

5 Guitars (featuring Caitlin Cary) – Yarn

I hear their live shows are exceptional; check some out here.

YARN ON TOUR
June 24 – Evening Muse, Charlotte NC
June 25 – Livewire Music Hall, Savannah GA
June 26 – The Handlebar, Greenville SC
June 27 – The White Mule, Columbia SC
June 28 – Smith’s Olde Bar, Atlanta GA
June 29 – The Pour House, Charleston SC
July 7 – Songs at Mirror Lake, Lake Placid NY
July 8 – Shepard Park, Lake George NY
July 24 – The Purple Fiddle, Thomas WV
July 25 – Floydfest, Floyd VA
July 25 – Downtown Live Raleigh, NC
July 26 – Floydfest, Floyd VA
July 30 – The Bullfrog Brewery, Williamsport PA
July 31 – Bank Street Cafe, New London CT
Aug 7 – Nectars, Burlington VT
Aug 21 – Capital Ale House, Richmond VA
Aug 29 – The Electric Company, Utica NY
Sept 11 – Main Pub, Manchester CT

[photo credit Jay Frederick]