Sunny War is a young African American woman from Nashville. She played folk, finger style guitar and was joined by another guitarist and a drummer. War’s voice was a fantastic alto, like a cross between Odetta and Cassandra Wilson. Haters may say that I am just comparing her to other black women, but she definitely does not sound like Laura Nyro or Barbara Streisand. The songs were simple, folk, country, even a fake bossanova, that allowed her voice to shine. The other guitar player said he has played the 9 four times, with a different band each time. His electric offered a good counterpoint to Sunny’s picking. His use of the whammy bar shaded with sliding chorus notes that added to the appeal. The whammy was central to his playing, one might even dub him a whammyphile. Sunny seemed to channel her voice, I say that because her intersong banter was that of a 20something stoner, a striking difference from the booming vocals. Lucid Lucy, Whole, No Reason, and New Day were all excellent, many coming off a recent album. Sunny encored with a solo reading of Elizabeth Cotten’s Freight Train. Cotten, another black woman, is a perfect addition to my list of comparisons.
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