Elizabeth Erenberg

Growing up in Los Angeles with a single dad, Elizabeth Erenberg was usually the only seven-year-old audience member at rock n’ roll concerts. She began learning classical flute after rejecting an electric guitar as a birthday gift. Though she pursued classical music professionally, she is a keen listener of many genres. Her work for organizations like NPR’s From the Top, Tufts University’s Department of Music and MusicOvation has influenced her writing about music. She holds degrees from New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Oregon. Currently, she resides in York, Pennsylvania where she is an active freelancer, recording artist, blogger, and teacher. www.elizabetherenberg.com

Sep 262018
 
jason isbell wrote a song

When I was 11, my dad took me to the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for a John Fogerty “revisited” show. As usual, I was the only child in attendance, but proud of it. The theater was strangely half empty. About halfway through the concert, we both admitted that John didn’t sound or look like himself. We tried not to judge, but we were a little sad. What was next for him? Would he appear on QVC selling turquoise necklaces?

Overhearing our perplexity, someone leaned over to us and said: “You know that isn’t John Fogerty, right? It’s a John Fogerty impersonator who won a contest to play this show.”

Moral of the story: read the fine print on the tickets. Continue reading »

Sep 182018
 
dawn zombie

Music of the mid-1990’s can get stuck between “oldies” and “contemporary,” but few chosen hits from that period remain timely and relevant to life in the present tense. “Zombie” by The Cranberries is one of them.

This catchy, nod-your-head tune is a message of protest against war and violence. It’s hard to recreate the ache and irony in Dolores O’Rordian’s voice without coming off downright angry and dark, like this heavy metal style cover by Leo & Stine Moracchioli. But a Haitian Creole singer Dawn Richard (known as DAWN) delivers a light and fresh take on the song in her new cover. Continue reading »