Sun 4/28 @ 7PM
New York-based singer/musician/humorist/activist Nellie McKay isn’t quite like your average singer/songwriter/song interpreter. She’s an oddball performer who blends sly humor and subtly serious messages into her eclectic pop music. Her 2004 debut album Get Away From Me established her as an artist who didn’t fit into any easily marketed genre; it seemed almost a mistake that it came out on a major label like Columbia.
Since then, she’s gone her own way, releasing a series of intriguing projects on her own label, including Normal as Blueberry Pie, a tribute to Doris Day and 2015’a My Weekly Reader, which featured covers of ’60s songs, a bizarre collection of the familiar (“Itchycoo Park,” “If I Fell,” “Sunny Afternoon”) and the obscure (Moby Grape’s “Murder in my Heart for the Judge”), none of which seems like it would be suited to her style, which of course is what makes these renditions weird and wonderful.
Her latest album, Hey Guys, Watch This, is her first album of original material in more than a decade and once again, she’s headed to a whole new place musically. It was recorded in West Virginia with an ensemble called the Carpenter Ants and is soaked in the sounds of traditional country music, given her own sleek and crafty spin.
McKay built herself quite a fan base in northeast Ohio through many appearances at Nighttown as well as a variety of other venues such as Riverdog Barn and Market Garden Brewery since the closing of Nighttown. This time she’ll be doing an evening at the Music Box Supper Club. Go here for tickets and (optional) dinner reservations.
Cleveland, OH 44113