About halfway through Delta Rae’s set at the sold-out 9:30 Club Saturday night, the entire band moved to the front on the stage to grab their instrument of choice. Some went for tambourines and shakers; one had metal trash can filled with heavy chains to rattle. Everyone in the band joined in to smash, beat, scratch, and shake to make the-larger-than-life percussive sound for the bands most well-known single, “Bottom of the River.”
The whole band swung into percussion mode to make the lavish and rhythmic sound in this Southern stomp-and-sing folk anthem. This was only one of the highlights of Saturday night’s set and features the scorching stand-out vocals of Brittany Hölljes.
Brittany (Vocals), as part of a trio of siblings with multi-instrumentalist Eric and Ian Hölljes (Vocals and Guitar), are joined with friends Elizabeth Hopkins (Vocals), Mike McKee (Percussion), and Grant Emerson (Bass Guitar) to make up Durham, NC’s Delta Rae. It has been somewhat of a fairy tale year for this band, having just released their debut album Carry the Fire in June 2012 after signing with Sire Records in the same year. Perhaps even the name Delta Rae itself carries a bit of whimsical fortune. The name came from a story the Hölljes’s mother used to tell them about a Southern girl named Delta Rae.
It was one night of amazing music. Both opening acts, Jillette Johnson, a singer-songwriter from New York, and The Wild Feathers, a rock/country/blues quartet from Nashville, were both really fun to watch. The Wild Feathers are great musicians that play together like seasoned veterans. Jillette Johnson clearly puts all of her emotion into every lyric that she sings. It’s inspiring; her chord progressions and melodies on the piano are matched perfectly with her beautiful voice.
Delta Rae’s set list included “Morning Comes,” “If I loved you,” and “Bottom of the River.” Another moment of note was their poignant rendition and cover of Fleetwood Macs aptly titled “The Chain.” At one point in the show, Delta Rae had the entire line up of The Wild Feathers on stage to help fill the room with even more vocals and stomps. It felt like the place exploded with sound.
For the last song of their encore, and just in case the crowd didn’t feel like they had a personal enough experience throughout the evening, Delta Rae literally walked halfway across the jam-packed floor of the club to the center of the room, stood in a small circle in the middle of the crowd and took to their instruments. The audience clapped, cheered, sang along, and bombarded the band with cell phones flashing, snapping photos and videos. The band stood, played, and walked off proudly.
THE WILD FEATHERS
JILLETTE JOHNSON
