On Wednesday night, December 13, people gathered at the Bowery Ballroom for Caamp’s show supported by a new and amazing artist, Savannah Conley. Concert-goers trickled in early at the bar downstairs and settled in with a drink before heading to the upstairs stage to be serenaded.
Conley came on at 9 p.m. and immediately commanded the stage with her Nashville twang. She performed her first few songs solo before inviting the band members of Caamp up to the stage for a song. Conley’s songs were heartbreakingly beautiful with haunting melodies and a hypnotic voice. Members of the audience were not the only ones who fell in love with her. Rolling Stone named her “Artists You Need to Know” and called her debut EP Twenty-Twenty as “a brief but emotionally rich collection of tracks full of moody orchestration and whip-smart lines” and applauding her “sharp lyricism and potent vocals.” At just twenty-one years old, Conley already has an impressive artistic Resumé, including being awarded the John Lennon Song Songwriter’s award in 2016. Earlier this year, Conley toured with big names, such as The Head and the Heart, Vance Joy, Anderson East, and Brent Cobb. Her new EP is available now and we greatly anticipate her future work.
The main act, Caamp, a folk trio hailing from Ohio, took the stage and thanked Conley for her stellar performance. Childhood friends, Evan Westfall and Taylor Meier, began the band back in 2013 in coffee shops and basements. After a few warm up songs, they brought out the banjo with their well-known song “Vagabond,” from their first album. Their new and second album, Boys (Side B), has all of the accouterments of great folk music, including banjo solos by Westfall, foot-stomping melodies, and Meier’s raspy and romantic lyrics.
