Grace Morrison and band with Matt Borrello opening ~ 2024 November 19 ~ The Spire Center for Performing Arts, Plymouth, MA
Grace Morrison (vocals, guitar), Jon Evans (bass, vocals), Matthias Bossi (drums), Erin Ash Sullivan (vocals), Matt Borrello (guitar, vocals) .
Scroll to below videos for a review of the show.
Videos ... if a problem with viewing, go to Youtube and search by performer and date; the Youtube account is in the name "nicepace"
Steady Rollin' River by Matt Borrello
King of Parkwood Drive
Wine Decisions
Grace and the band
Review
For the second time in two months I had the good fortune to see former folkie Grace Morrison perform with a band. Her set consisted mostly of songs from her soon-to-be-released album, Saltwater Country. As much as the last show, highlighted by Radoslav Lorkovic on keyboard and accordion, showed Grace in a new light, this one was edging even more toward the rock 'roll universe, with the addition of a bona fide lead guitarist, Matt Borrello. I'm not saying Matt is a rock 'n roller, since he really isn't, but the addition of that instrument really put some heft into the overall sound. More positive additions came in the persons of the drummer who has played on a number of Grace's recordings, Matthias Bossi, and therefore very familiar with the material, and a veteran New England singer-songwriter, Erin Ash Sullivan, on backing vocals. Jon Evans was back on bass, backing vocals, and general right-hand man.
The show began with an exceptionally good five songs from Matt Borrello. He brought four different guitars including a resonator and a visually lovely Rickenbacker. His opening set was highlighted by an uptempo bluesy number touching upon the state of the world, mentioning glimpses of God and including a reference to Cape Cod (not sure if that's in the original lyrics). I grabbed one video of a bluesy song in which he played the resonator.
Grace and the rest of the band came on stage as soon as Matt was done. Their set of about 18 or 20 songs consisted largely of songs from Grace's new album. She says that she has concentrated on writing songs with themes about Wareham ("saltwater country") where she grew up, and there is a splendid variety of ballads and uptempo numbers, a sea shanty, even a song about a hurricane (Gloria) that coincided with her birth! One song that she loves to work into her set is one that isn't even hers, a song that comes under the heading of "greatest hits of the '90s," the song "Waterfalls" by TLC, which she has ended the show with each of the last two times, encouraging the audience to get up to dance.
Grace was dressed in a stretchy black pantsuit, apparently experimenting with stage clothes. I think the pretty dresses she normally wears are nicer, but she gets to decide! Maybe as she goes more toward rock, she wants to look more punk. We'll see as time goes by!