By EMILY PAOLICELLI
Arts Editor
The Early Mays brought folk and country traditions to Studio G3 in the third concert in the Music Industry Faculty Concert series on March 14.
The concert opened with a short set from Saint Rose Junior Megan Osman, who began her set with only her voice and her guitar. Osman established an up close and personal rapport with the audience right from the beginning, taking time to explain the backstory of each of the songs she played, which often highlighted troubles in love.
“I like juicy stuff,” said Osman about why none of her songs had a “happier” theme. “It’s more, I don’t know, juicy.”
Later in her set, Osman added background vocals from fellow Saint Rose students Paige Menneci and Victoria Christie, and added guitar from Grace Annunziato. The camaraderie between the performers was apparent, especially as Osman frequently praised the talent of her ensemble. The voices and instrumentation worked well together, creating well-executed three-part harmonies that added even more depth to Osman’s already emotional music. Osman’s mix of country, pop, and folk proved to be a perfect precursor to the traditional folk and country music of the Early Mays.
Founded in Pittsburgh, PA, The Early Mays were brought to Saint Rose with music faculty Emily Pinkerton, who began teaching at Saint Rose in the Fall 2018 semester. Pinkerton’s courses are predominantly songwriting courses, but she is also the director of Saint Rose’s Old Time Country Music Ensemble.
“I can’t believe in two months how connected I feel to people,” said Pinkerton. “I’m glad to be here as much as I miss Pittsburgh.”
The band used both common and uncommon instruments in their set, creating a full, deep sound in each and every one of their pieces. Pinkerton, a vocalist who frequently swapped between the guitar, banjo, and fiddle, was joined on stage by fellow Early Mays member Ellen Gozion on harmonium, banjo, and piano, and Early Mays collaborator Nicole Myers on cello.
The Early Mays often shifted between their instruments, taking frequent tuning breaks between pieces. They used this down-time to banter with each other and with the audience, often explaining the history and the roots of their music, including the geographical origins of each piece.
All of the music that the Early Mays played was light-hearted and fun, often at a perfect toe-tapping tempo. The group is well-versed in folk and country traditions, and played a mix of original pieces and covers, some with vocals, some without. Much like those in Osman’s songs, the lyrics of the songs performed were concerned with mundane, relatable things, touching on themes like the importance of appreciating the beauty of the little things in life, and those instances where it’s better to have loved and lost to never have loved at all. Essentially,
Music isn’t the only talent that the members of the Early Mays possess: in one number, Gozion brought out a crankie, a storytelling aid that consists of a box which contains a long scroll that has a painting on it. Gozion used the crankie while she sang an a cappella folk song from Kentucky. The visual aid mixed with Gozion’s clear, gentle voice instilled the feeling of a mother reading a picture book to a young child; a sensation that is not typical of a music concert.
The mix of traditional musical stylings and unconventional flares to those traditions made for a concert experience that kept audience members interested to the very end.
The fourth and final concert in the Music Industry Faculty Concert series will take place on April 11, 2019, and feature Saint Rose Professor Sean McClowry.
