Courtney Marie Andrews

CRITIC'S PICK:
Sat., March 28
Courtney Marie Andrews, Taylor Zachry, The EARL - As Andrews' new album, Valentine, implies, the Nashville-based singer/songwriter explores the ins and outs of love, romance and desire, along with life, death, and disappointment. Regardless of her home base, this isn't country influenced. Rather she aims in shadier, less commercial directions. Her melancholy songs are delivered with a lovely, creamy voice interlaced with hope and the understanding that better times are ahead. The material is so intimate, occasionally stripped-down and personal, it would seem difficult to sing on stage nightly. This is far from the louder, more raucous acts that typically take the stage at this venue. Opener Taylor, a Nashville peer, will introduce music from his recently released, five-years-in-the-making debut, Songs I've Had Forever. - Hal Horowitz