Lizz Wright and Brandon Young at Highline Ballroom

Don’t you love it when you go to a show and the opening act is actually a pleasurable experience? Tuesday night I went to a show at Highline Ballroom, a classy but cozy venue that knows how to milk you for all you’re worth, while simultaneously making you feel too at home and well serviced to care. It’s a room full of tables, each with a $10 minimum per person/per set, but on this night the music was so good and our waitress so attentive and the drinks so satisfying and the food so delectable that we couldn’t have cared less that we spent about 70 bucks each to see this woman perform, with the ticket price included of course. Fortunately, Lizz Wright and everything else that factored into the evening, was worth every penny.



She has a background in Gospel and jazz. Now, with the help of local songstress Toshi Reagon, she has created a sound all her own. It’s music that enters your soul with a soothing melodic groove and makes you feel in love with the world all over again. The minute she walked onstage I was drawn in and remained that way until the end of the night. People have told me that I have a “pull,” like a magnet almost. But if I’m a magnet, I’m about as big as a refrigerator magnet and she’s one of those cartoon ACME magnets that draws the universe in.

On this night she pulled together “her favorite people” to perform alongside her and you could truly feel how much she adored each and every one of them and vice versa. At one point she apologized for not talking very much between songs saying, “For some reason, I just want to sing to you tonight. I’m just so happy. It feels like family in here.” The audience chuckled responding, “That’s all right,” because that’s what we’d come to hear her do anyways. And after the first note out of her mouth, we really couldn’t ask for anything more.


On the other hand, we had the opening act, Brandon Young. This was his first show in NY and as my friend said, “I felt like I was on a date with him. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to put out or not!” Well, metaphorically speaking, I would have certainly put out. You can’t be mad at a guy for wearing his heart on his sleeve. Even if it reached a level of sappiness at times, the act came across genuinely. Whether it was genuine or not, we’ll never know, but I enjoyed the getting to know you banter mixed with his perfectly constructed pop songs of love, love and more love. With Jeff Buckley-inspired vocals, he’s got the formula so down pat that every song felt familiar, in a good way. I often found myself humming along halfway through as if I’d known the song all my life- and writing something catchy is half the battle.

So, best of luck to both of these new talents. It was a great night and it really did feel like family. How often does that happen in NY?

***MY ONLY NOTE: “The Broken Caesar Salad” on the menu is literally two chunks of lettuce with some toppings thrown in. Our friends at the table next to us would have appreciated the clarification. So there ya go, you've been warned. :-)