Baton Rouge-based eclectic chamber folk band Minos the Saint will celebrate the release of their debut full-length recording Awake and Dream at Chickie Wah Wah on Sunday, March 20, 2016. The band’s unique sound is an acoustic blend of guitar-based songwriting mixed with symphonic brass along with accordion and a funky bottom end.
Minos the Saint features leader Ben Herrington on accordion, keyboards, and trombone, Peter Simon on vocals and guitar, Micah Blouin on percussion and vocals, Joel Willson on violin and mandolin, Jessica Ottaviano on trombone, and Arisia Gilmore on French horn.
Their diverse musical backgrounds yield a sonic kaleidoscope featuring uncommon instrumentation, clever arrangements, and frequent flights of jazzy improvisation. The result is a fresh brand of experimental, yet accessible folk rock with influences from Louisiana and around the world.
The opening act is singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Crystal Bright and her band, North Carolina-based Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands. Bright plays accordion, musical saw, concertina, piano, Taiko drum, adungu (Ugandan harp) among various other instruments befitting her background in ethnomusicology.
The band has an eclectic, carnival-esque world folk sound, which has been dubbed “kaleidophrenic cabaret.” Listeners over the past five years have been captivated with her operatic and soulful vocals and virtuosic command of her exotic instruments. They have played over 500 shows.
Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands’ performance in New Orleans follows a stop at the SXSW music conference in Austin. Their 2012 album Muses and Bones received glowing reviews as well as radio airplay in the USA, UK, and Canada including appearances on NPR and the BBC. Their latest album, The Absolute Elsewhere was released nationally on May 19, 2015.
