Brooksie Wells
Brooksie Wells grew up in the South with parents who fought for Civil Rights and the Equal Rights Amendment. She moved to New York City in the 1970s, where the thriving folk music scene heavily influenced her music.
The October 2015 release of North East Rising Sun marks Brooksie Wells' return to her folk roots - a carefully chosen collection of well-crafted songs with complex harmonies and insightful lyrics. The album reached the top ten on the folk DJ charts.
Brooksie's fingerpicking style sets the tone on North East Rising Sun for a plainspoken road trip full of sharp turns and long looks in the rear view mirror. A small band of excellent players, including GRAMMY-Nominated Frank Solivan, accompany her on the ride providing support, rhythm and comfort.
Brooksie's first stop on the record is "North East Rising Sun", the title track - mandolin leads and lush harmonies take us on a memorable drive down a very well-travelled east coast highway. "Where do I belong?" is the central question of the song. In "Silver Spoon", money and privilege do not lead to happiness and this simple guitar and vocal are reminiscent of old folk records from the 60's and 70's.
"Shame Houses" and "Can't Fix Crazy" are bluesy, guitar-driven outpourings of lost love. A Mardi Gras horn adds flavor and color to the duet No Notion. Brooksie's only cover is a quiet rendition of Rodney Crowell's "Shame on the Moon" which sounds so new when sung by a woman.