‘Impossibly talented’ Nora Brown to perform at Mary’s Place
SHE PLAYS THE GUITAR. She plays the banjo. She’s a storyteller. She’s performed nationally and internationally. She’s won numerous music awards. She released her first album at age 13 and all three of her albums landed on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts. And she’s only 18. Nora Brown started her musical career at the ripe old age of six when veteran teacher, Shlomo Pestcoe, taught her to play the ukulele. By the time she hit double digits at age 10, Brown had chosen the open-back banjo as her instrument of choice.
The Brooklyn-based sensation plays traditional music with a focus on southern Appalachian banjo and guitar. Described as a “must-see artist” by the Boston Globe and “impossibly talented” by the Fretboard Journal, Brown has been mentored by some of the best in the business. On Friday, Aug. 16, the young phenom will add a new experience to her impressive curriculum vitae. After wrapping up her current tour in Belgium and before traveling to perform in Japan, she will play at Mary’s Place, the popular music venue located in Mary Domito’s destination store, Taos Lifestyle.
Just how did a young girl from Brooklyn become immersed in the music of Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee?
“I started going to festivals there and competitions like at Clifftop Festival and I was introduced to people like Lee Sexton and George Gibson. They are really welcoming people in that tight music community,” explained Brown. She also got to know the late John Cohen (musician, musicologist, and collector of folk music) and the legendary folk singer Alice Gerrard who produced Brown’s first album.
The New Yorker called Brown’s most recent record, “Long Time To Be Gone,” “a disarming collection of traditional laments and exquisite banjo instrumentals.”
More locally, when folks in Denver learned that Brown was scheduled to play in Taos, they purchased tickets in advance.