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DK_Songbird_poster-11x17Hello my snowy friends. We are playing a great show next Tuesday at The Way Station!

It’s the debut of the new Songbird Series featuring women songwriters. We’ll be sharing the stage with banjo rock star Debe Dalton and series host and reigning dulcimer queen DK & the Joy Machine. The show starts at 7pm sharp and we go on at 8:00.

Here are a few other things you should know:

–The Way Station is at 683 Washington Ave between Prospect and St Marks in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Closest trains: A to Washington, 2/3 to BK Museum, Q to 7th Ave.

-It’s free! Also, on Tuesdays there are $4 well drink specials. So you could potentially get a lot of drinking done for cheap if you wanted to.

-The bathroom at the Way Station is a Tardis. So in case you need to travel through time and space, no problem.

-If you can’t make it but still want to watch the show, you’re in luck! You can live-stream it here (or also watch it archived later). 

This is our last show until March because in February we will be recording! We’re really excited to finally start work on our first full length album. But save some dates for us, because we’ll be back on March 6th at Rock Bar with Wiley Gaby and on March 16th at Littlefield with My Gay Banjo to celebrate the last stop on their big tour.

xoxo,
karen

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Check out this review of our band and Ocean Born Mary on Fuck Yeah! Queer Music!

fyeahqueermusic:

So! Since I moved to Brooklyn yesterday, I figured it was only right to feature a Brooklyn based band to celebrate. Right above is Karen and the Sorrows, and they make legit country that would make your 87 year-old grandpa from Texas happy.

Well, not happy, because Karen and the Sorrows, as their name suggests, don’t write happy. They write lost and heartbreak, and goddamn are they good at it. Their latest release, a four song cycle EP called “Ocean-Born Mary,” and it covers the gamut of break ups and love gone wrong. The songs are quiet, but devastating, with a good mix of dirty electric guitar and absolutely haunting pedal steel. (And OH MY GOD the pedal steel. Elana Redfield just kills it). The drums and bass are subtle, but provide a solid, toe tapping drive, which all good country must have.

Song writer and vocalist Karen Pittelman has a delicate voice that just bleeds heartbreak in a classic 60s and 70s female country artist way. Seriously, if you’re a fan of Dolly or Loretta, you need to start listening to Karen and the Sorrows. If you’re in the New York City area, Karen organizes a queer country monthly (where I saw Humble Tripe) at Branded Saloon. The next one is this coming Saturday, the 7th, and this awesome band will be playing along with a bunch of other great acts!

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I finally had a chance to go through some of the footage Desiree gave me from her documentary about our little queer country scene. Here we are at last year’s Gay Ole Opry, opening with Don’t Take Advice from Hank Williams. Hoping Desiree will screen the film again soon!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T7D0Hul4Qk

 

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dec2013qcmevent

Dearest cowpeople, it’s time for the Queer Country Monthly! This Saturday we’ll be at our beloved Branded Saloon starting a little later than usual with doors at 9pm. Your faithful host Karen & the Sorrows will be taking the stage with some stellar acts this month: The Momos, Jean Marie and Rachel Easterly, and AJ Lewis.

The door is $5, but no one is ever turned away for lack of funds. Also, there is always a bucket of free candy for people who like candy.

WHEN: Saturday, December 7th, 9:00 pm
WHERE: Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Avenue at the corner of Bergen St, Brooklyn
DOOR: $5 (but no one ever turned away for lack of funds)
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/740934755920017

Read on for more info about the bands and your hard-working queer country team below. Hope to see you all soon!

xoxo,
karen

Jean Marie was born and raised in the foggy climes of San Francisco but now calls Brooklyn her home. She makes quiet folk music in the tradition of Nick Drake and Elliott Smith.

Rachel Easterly was raised on somber/cutesy church songs in Ohio and now writes somber/cutesy songs in New York that she hopes pass the Bechdel test.

The MoMos hail from the swamps of your heart. Sometimes known as Franky and The MoMos, the MoMos like to drink whiskey and tell tall tales concerning crickets and birds. Their twangy garage music will have your feet a tappin’.

Gay Ole Opry & Queer Country Monthly

The Queer Country Monthly is brought to you by Riot Grrrl Ink, the largest queer record label in the world.

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This November is a very special Queer Country Monthly. We’re celebrating Humble Tripe’s Record Release Party! We’re so excited to be playing this show together with the super-talented Wiley Gaby. I’ve been listening to the album and it’s so, so good.

WHEN: Saturday, November 9th, 8:00 pm
WHERE: Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Avenue at the corner of Bergen St, Brooklyn
DOOR: $5 (but no one ever turned away for lack of funds)
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1379379695620171/

Also, there is always a bucket of free candy for people who like candy.

Hope to see you all soon!

xoxo,
karen

More info:

Humble Tripe
Pushing the boundaries of Folk-Americana, Humble Tripe moves from songwriter to symphony, resulting in a haunting landscape of beautiful swells, dramatic tension and space on their upcoming sophomore album entitled, The Giving.

Wiley Gaby
A small-town boy from the swamps of North Florida with a love for Dolly Parton and a fondness for bourbon + boys + buckwilderness.”After Gaby sang a cover of Robyn’s ‘Dancing on My Own,’ which was indeed heartbreaking and desperate—and damn beautiful—all of the yearning and burning sentiment I’d tapped into with Morrissey was suddenly there in Prospect Heights. Except this wasn’t an emo Brit crooner, it was a Floridian transplant singing a Swedish pop song in Brooklyn.” – Gordon West, NEXT MAGAZINE

For more about the Gay Ole Opry and Queer Country Monthly head to www.gayoleopry.com

The Queer Country Monthly is brought to you by Riot Grrrl Ink, the largest queer record label in the world

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pianosoct6poster

We’re headed across the river again this Sunday, bringing a little more Brooklyn queer country music to the Lower East Side. We’ll be back at Pianos with two of our favorite bands to play with, Kings and Small Talk. The show starts early, at 7:00, and we’re be on at 8:00, so you don’t even have to stay up too late. Plus, we’re downstairs in the big room this time, so it will be extra-fancy! Here are the details:

WHERE: Pianos (Downstairs), 158 Ludlow St. and Stanton St., Manhattan
Closest subway is F/M to 2nd Ave or Delancey

WHEN: This Sunday, October 6th, show starts at 7:00 pm
7:00 Small Talk, 8:00 Karen & the Sorrows, 9:00 Kings

TICKETS: $8

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/227963180694412

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september2013qcm3

The Queer Country Monthly is back from summer break! And we missed you! It’s time to head over to our beloved Branded Saloon and let your friendly neighborhood queers serenade you with some country music. We’ll be playing along with the dulcimer-amazingness that is DK & the Joy Machine, the unicorn power of Justin Vahala, and a very special guest appearance from Steve D’Agostino.

We’re starting early this Saturday, with Steve taking the stage just a little after 8:00 and the Sorrows on at 8:30, DK at 9:15, and Justin at 10:00. So don’t come too late or you’ll miss it all!

WHEN: Saturday, September 28th, 8:00 pm
WHERE: Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Avenue at the corner of Bergen St, Brooklyn
DOOR: $5 (but no one ever turned away for lack of funds)
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/387286298041478/

One of the worst things about living in a city where there’s always so much going on is that sometimes things get double booked. If we weren’t playing country music for you on the 28th, we’d be out celebrating Third Root and 5 years of providing transformative healthcare! We’ll be donating a portion of the night’s door to support Third Root.

(And speaking of being double booked, of course after Third Root, we’d head over to Hey Queen…)

The Queer Country Monthly is brought to you by the Sorrows and Riot Grrrl Ink. For more about upcoming Queer Country Monthlies and the Gay Ole Opry, visit gayoleopry.com.

Hope to see you soon!

xoxo,
karen

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We are playing a show this Friday night with our honky-tonk friends Tatters & Rags who share our love for songs with a nautical theme. Plus, the awesome bluegrass band Cricket Tell the Weather. And it’s at a new bar called Cool Pony that sells vintage western clothes and albums. In case you need to buy some things.

More details…

When: Friday, June 21st, 9:00 PM

Lineup: 9PM Tatters & Rags, 10PM Karen & the Sorrows, 11PM Cricket Tell the Weather

Where: Cool Pony, 733 Franklin Ave, between Park and Sterling, Crown Heights, Brooklyn
(S to Park Place, or 2, 3, 4, or 5 to Franklin Ave)
www.coolponycrownheights.com

Door: $5

RSVP: www.facebook.com/events/362920770498156

Also, if you are the kind of person who likes to sing along to country songs of the 80s, you should know that we’ve been working on “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses.” Don’t forget to brush up on your Kathy Mattea so you can join in!

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tomtom

There are so many reasons why I’m excited about this show. The main one is that this is celebrating the release of the newest Tom Tom Magazine issue, focused on women drummers who play country music. Anyone who’s ever been in a band knows that you are nothing without a good drummer. And truly we would be lost without our Tami Johnson who is one of the best drummers in town. So honoring her and other ladies behind the country kit sounds like a pretty great idea to me.

Also, Hill Country has all kinds of delicious BBQ and I like shows where you can eat.

Also, check out this line-up!

9:30pm: Your Ex-Girlfriends, an all lady country cover band with Erica Mancini on drums

10:30pm: The Melody Allegra Band with Linda Pitmon on drums

11:30pm: Karen and the Sorrows with Tami Johnson on drums

More details:

Where: Hill Country, 30 W. 26th St. between 5th and 6th Ave in Manhattan

Door: Suggested donation of $10

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/384793291641566/

IMPORTANT! Call for reservations! Hill Country is a popular spot on a Saturday night.
Call (212) 255-4544 for reservations and ask to be seated on the club level near the music.

http://music.hillcountryny.com/event/281783-tom-tom-magazines-women-in-new-york/

 

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jalopy

 We’ll be at Jalopy this Saturday to play the final installment of Brooklyn Country’s epic series Brooklyn City Limits. We’re sharing the stage with two amazing bands, Roosevelt Dime and Tall County, so we promise it’s gonna be a great show. Plus, there’s a free Sixpoint Happy Hour from 8-9pm, in case you like to drink beer.

When: Saturday, May 18—show starts at 8pm, we’re on second at 9pm
Where: Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, 11231
Door: $10, buy advanced tickets here
RSVP: www.facebook.com/events/482547815151309

Directions: F or G subway train to Carroll Street. Exit from the front of the train onto 1st Place. Turn right and walk four blocks and cross over the BQE on the pedestrian bridge. Continue down Summit Street one block and turn left on Columbia Street. Jalopy Theatre is one block away at 315 Columbia Street. The B61 bus also will drop you a couple blocks away. Catch it in Downtown Brooklyn or Park Slope.

Hope to see you soon!

xoxo,
karen

p.s. This Saturday is also one of our favorite events of the year—Small Works for Big Change. Make sure to start your Saturday night off right by bidding on some art to support the amazing Sylvia Rivera Law Project!