by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
Korby Lenker ambled into European Street for his first gig in Florida with his Martin guitar and a head full of catchy songs. These songs kept my attention from opening to encore. Korby has a charming persona, on and off-stage. He flashes a quick smile with an eclectic repertoire of bluegrass-influenced original songs.
From his small-town roots as the son of a mortician in southern Idaho, Korby studied music theory at Western Washington University. After a period of disillusionment, Korby set out to explore bluegrass music, learning to flat pick like Doc Watson and Norman Blake.
This was a fertile time for Korby. He joined bands and played out as much as possible, all the while writing songs that defied categorization. His big break was when he was invited to play the Mountain Music Lounge. From those MML performances, offers poured in to open for Ray LaMontagne, Keith Urban, and Nickel Creek. This gave Korby an opportunity for massive exposure.
Several solo albums followed, leading up to Korby’s crown achievement, winning the Merlefest songwriting contest this year, which got him an opening slot for Elvis Costello. Shortly thereafter, Kirby signed with Circle Back Music and recorded King of Hearts, which won accolades from radio station KEXP and BBC Radio 2. Somewhere out there, Korby’s music is on the air.
Of course, the test of any singer/songwriter’s star power is his/her performance skills and the quality of his/her material. Korby has both of those benchmarks covered. He’s a passionate performer moving and grooving with the music. His vocal style is a low raspy voice that is loaded with emotional verve. His voice sounds like Bruce Springsteen when he sings haunting ballads like Secret Garden.
On Korby’s catchy ‘Papercuts’ he sings of love’s mystery “I love you, I hate you...it’s not worth the worry...it’s only love.” This stunning song begs to be listened to again and again. The way Korby performs his songs is seductive, bringing his audience into his songwriting consciousness. His song ‘Wandered out too Far’ is another introspective love ballad that touches the listener’s heart, but avoids gushing sentimentality. He sings it with convincing emotional angst, defining love and pain as synonymous terms. “Send me an angel of mercy,” Korby pleaded with soulful grace, taking his audience on his musical journey to the promised land of hope and joy.
“There’s a red hot fever in my head,” Korby crooned with his magnetic aura of voice and guitar. Yes, he had me on the first song, but as I listened to his material it “buzzed me like a guitar string ready to break.” Korby’s clever lyrics combined with his intricate melodies and surprise modulations caught me in the diaphragm. Wow, this cat is on his way to glory as a major folk performer.
Indeed, Korby passed the true test of an artists’ greatness, that is his ability to deliver his songs with just his voice and acoustic guitar with the same emotional effect as his recorded material. I’ll pop his CD into my car stereo and it will stay there for a week and still sound great.
“Come closer,” Korby sings. “I want to hear your heartbeat..” Yeah, baby!
“you are the ruby kiss on my lips...I want to make you shiver like a fuzzy peach ready to drop off its tree.” And the hits just keep coming. Korby brings intimate feeling to his ballads that reach out and touch the listener with a passionate embrace.
Overall, Korby’s European Street set was as sweet as clover honey and made me want more. Clearly, he won new fans and supporters with his performance. Korby has the memorable songs and performing prowess to deliver standing ovations across the land. Man he’s got IT! “Long may he run!”
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
