Rebecca Pronsky

Artist Information

Biography

Rebecca Pronsky is a born and raised Brooklynite who plays twangy folk that is as “urban as it is rural, not afraid to be sophisticated” (Maverick). She’s a “poetic lyricist” (All Music Guide), who sounds “more retro than redneck” (Creative Loafing), “like The Smiths relocated to Nashville” (Northern Sky). On stage her performances are “passionate and wry” (Time Out NY) and “near electric” (Birmingham Mail).

NPR recently featured Rebecca's tune "Hard Times" on it's 'Song of the Day' program saying "her voice conveys the wisdom of experience [and] she addresses the struggles of a generation attempting to get by."

Rebecca tours heavily on both sides of the Atlantic with lead guitarist Rich Bennett who "puts the trimmings on the music with a battery of echo drenched, twangy leads" (Blurt) and often includes rhythm section of Dan Shuman on bass and Russ Meissner on drums.

Notable Appearances:
- 30A Songwriters Festival (2013)
- WFUV On Your Radar (2013)
- Celtic Connections UK (2012)
- Falcon Ridge Folk Festival /Emerging Artist Showcase (2012)
- NPR 'Song of the Day' (2012)
- West Side County Fair (2012)
- NJ Folk Festival (Songwriters Showcase Winner 2010, Main Stage 2011)
- CT Folk Festival (2011)

Notable venues:
US: Club Passim, World Cafe Live, Tin Angel, Club Cafe, Living Room, Tribeca PAC, Jalopy, Birchmere, Eddie's Attic, Triple Door. UK & Europe: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Colston Hall, Twickfolk, Jumpin' Hot Club, Paradiso

Supported:
Shawn Colvin
Loudon Wainwright III
Steve Forbert
Josh Ritter
Freedy Johnston
Patty Larkin
Amy Rigby & Wreckless Eric

Radio highlights:
- BBC 6, BBC Scotland, BBC Wales
- WNCW, WFUV, WFMU, WDVX, KDHX, KBCS, KLCC, KPFA
- NPR Song of the Day

4 Star Reviews:
- Maverick
- Blurt
- Rock 2 Reel
- Americana Roots UK
- Heaven (NL)
- Country Music People
- Scotland Herald

Rebecca's new record "Only Daughter" (release date: March 19, 2013 on Nine Mile Records) signals a somewhat new direction for her. Gone is most of the countrypolitan influence that got her noticed as Brooklyn's "witty Americana songstress" (Time Out London) in favor of a more adventurous, atmospheric sound. However it is still Rebecca's commanding voice that anchors the sound. The album was recorded and mixed by Scott Solter (Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice, Superchunk) with guitarist Rich Bennett producing. It is her third full-length release on Austin, TX label Nine Mile Records.

Instrumentation

Rebecca Pronsky - Acoustic + Tenor Guitar
Rich Bennett - Guitar
Dan Shuman - Bass
Russ Meissner - Drums

Discography

"Only Daughter" (2013 - full length - Nine Mile Records)
"Viewfinder" (2011 - full length - Nine Mile Records)
"The Best Game in Town" (2009 - EP - Nine Mile Records)
"Departures & Arrivals" (2007 - full length - Nine Mile Records)
"The Early Hours" (2004 - EP - self released)

Official Website

http://www.rebeccapronsky.com

Links

• Last.fm
• Twitter
• Facebook

Audio

• Rise Up
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• Better That Way
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• Honesty
  Listen  
• Hard Times
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• The Wheel
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Daily Telegraph [+ Show ]
  

  Rebecca Pronsky's album Only Daughter is beguiling and enjoyable. It's a decade since Br...Rebecca Pronsky's album Only Daughter is beguiling and enjoyable.
  
  It's a decade since Brooklyn-born Rebecca Pronsky released her first album and now, following 2011's strong Viewfinder, she has hit the mark again with Only Daughter.
  
  Pronsky has a voice that's full of character, sensitive and rich, and her songs — many of which have a rare modern quality of being short and sharp —are stimulating and catchy.
  
  It's an album of mercurial moods. Pronsky's own songwriting is interesting, too. Honesty is a cleverly-constructed tale of the disconnected ways of urban life. Only Daughter is a complex and enjoyable album.

• NPR Song of the Day [+ Show ]
  

  "In 'Hard Times,' the opening track from her fine new album Viewfinder, Brooklyn-based singer-songwr..."In 'Hard Times,' the opening track from her fine new album Viewfinder, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Rebecca Pronsky addresses the struggles of a generation attempting to get by. Over a propulsive beat and a wash of noirishly twangy guitars, Pronsky echoes sentiments familiar to many: "Numbers used to be so small: pennies, nickels, dimes / Now, the same collectors call, fallen on hard times." As is frequently the case with the best topical music, "Hard Times" feels personal, anecdotal and emotional rather than devolving into a didactic indictment of the institutions at fault. A commanding, low-register warble, Pronsky's voice conveys the wisdom of experience without crossing the line into defeatist world-weariness. To the contrary, Pronsky's song is more rallying cry than lament: "Get yourself together," she implores, "'cause it's hard times."

• The Other Woman: BBC 6 Picks [+ Show ]
  

  This Brooklyn native should be a household name as far as we’re concerned... ‘Viewfinder’ is a super...This Brooklyn native should be a household name as far as we’re concerned... ‘Viewfinder’ is a superb record by an accomplished musician - it’s obvious she’s playing music since the year dot ... on track to become one of America’s foremost modern folk songstresses.

• Scotland Herald [+ Show ]
  

  4 STARS The lighter songs are the ones where she only gets depressed sometimes is a nice, self-de...4 STARS
  
  The lighter songs are the ones where she only gets depressed sometimes is a nice, self-deprecating line from Rebecca Pronsky.
  
  She's joking, of course. As a marketing strategy it would give entirely the wrong impression because although there's a certain wariness, and indeed weariness, in Pronsky's lyrics, she presented a great variety of musical moods to the denizens of Jordanhill, who packed into a room where Pronsky previously played to an audience she could have counted on her fingers.
  
  Word about the singer-songwriter who has traded in her Brooklyn cowgirl country style for a more all-encompassing Americana approach had clearly got out, and she repaid the promoter's faith with a couple of absorbing sets that were enjoyable not just for the musical partnership between Pronsky and her husband, guitarist Rich Bennett, but for her ditzy humour and entertaining between-song chat.
  
  Bennett's superb electric guitar work has to take a lot of the credit for the duo's ability to switch between folky-pop songs with a cutting lyrical edge through vintage Brill Building-esque songcraft and echo-haunted rockabilly into the sort of rawkin' out that fills stadia, let alone lounge bars, on The Garden from Pronsky's latest album, Only Daughter.
  
  It's Pronsky's writing that invites such scope, though, and she creates strong images with words she wraps in direct, easily digested melodies and sings with both warmth and steely conviction. Big City Lights had the audience turning into a choir but for an example of Pronsky's class as a writer it would have been hard to beat Fragile World, with a languid, loosely Latin-American vibe that could have been tailor-made for a Stan Getz tenor solo.

• No Depression [+ Show ]
  

  The performance itself was sublime. On stage in layers of cardigan –red & white for the fashion...The performance itself was sublime. On stage in layers of cardigan –red & white for the fashion note takers- and thick tights and boots on a freezing cold night, Rebecca was more than ably supported by guitarist and foil Rich Bennett. His playing was a feature of the evening. Sporting a hairstyle that would not look out of place in a Johnny Cash band from the ‘50s, he provided a musical wash over proceedings that slotted perfectly with the imagery of Miss Pronsky’s lyrics. Playing, lead, rhythm, wah wah you name it he could do it.
  
  Then Rebecca herself. She has one of those voices that reaches deep into your soul as she draws you into her world. Her songs which, even she admits, fall into two camps. There are the political finger pointers like Cold Hard Cash or Hard Times here dedicated to Bernie Madoff and “growing up songs” which to me are her strength, such as Better That Way, Best Game In Town and the sublime Day Of The Dead. Another sign of a great artist is to make other peoples songs her own. This Rebecca did to great effect on Lucy Wainwright Roche’s Mercury News and Glenn Tipton by Mark Kozelec from The Red House Painters.
  
  Leaving us with a new song aptly called Snowing Sideways the audience didn’t really care what category she did or didn’t fit into. They knew that that they had just witnessed a wonderful performance.

• Maverick Magazine [+ Show ]
  

  (4 STARS) This is 'proper' country music, not the sort that harks back to the past, but the sort tha...(4 STARS) This is 'proper' country music, not the sort that harks back to the past, but the sort that's urban as it is rural, not afraid to be sophisticated. This is a light and airy album that comes out of the speaker like the first spring breeze, blowing away the cobwebs and breathing new life into everything it touches. Pronsky is the complete package: interpreter, writer, singer and (together with guitarist Rich Bennett, whose licks and leads are a critical part of the music) producer. A great way to start the year.

• Blurt [+ Show ]
  

  “Rebecca Pronsky could probably sing the phone book and bring out subtle nuances in the listings wit...“Rebecca Pronsky could probably sing the phone book and bring out subtle nuances in the listings with her penetrating voice. Her guitar-slinging husband Rich Bennett would throw in some rhythmic leads to bolster them too. The two of them, and a few friends, have been making beautiful music together on three albums (plus a few EPs and live disc) by using the best qualities of pure country and singer-songwriter styles.”

• All Music Guide [+ Show ]
  

  Pronsky is an allusive, poetic lyricist who isn't interested in providing clear, linear meanings so ...Pronsky is an allusive, poetic lyricist who isn't interested in providing clear, linear meanings so much as impressions, dreams, and moods. Pronsky makes observations in a clear, resonant tenor, strumming her acoustic guitar over a rhythm section, while Bennett provides the musical color on lead electric guitar, piano, mandolin, and organ. Whatever the dissatisfactions the singer expresses, Bennett's playing provides a counterweight; life may not be good, but the music can be.

• Pittsburgh City Paper [+ Show ]
  

  Rebecca Pronsky knows her way around a metaphor, and though residing in Brooklyn, she sings like she...Rebecca Pronsky knows her way around a metaphor, and though residing in Brooklyn, she sings like she has Nashville in her blood. She can easily remind listeners of Neko Case, both in terms of her ability to belt the lyrics and the way she stands out above the sea of thoughtful women with guitars. The songs follow a tension-and-release set-up much like traditional country music, but her writing and that voice keep them from sounding standard. Pronsky seems the type of singer whose pipes can cut through the background noise at the bar and lure listeners to the stage, where her lyrics sustain interest for a whole set.

• Metro Pulse [+ Show ]
  

  Brooklyn singer/songwriter Rebecca Pronsky shuffles through the dark territory where old-fashioned r...Brooklyn singer/songwriter Rebecca Pronsky shuffles through the dark territory where old-fashioned rock n roll, country, and folk come together. It's roughly the same territory where Neko Case and Kelly Hogan operate, and any accusations of carpetbagging are shot down by both the conviction of her songs and the strength of her voice.
  

• R2 'Rock n Reel' UK [+ Show ]
  

  (4 STARS) Viewfinder gives rein to Pronsky's country leanings on a superbly crafted set of descripti...(4 STARS) Viewfinder gives rein to Pronsky's country leanings on a superbly crafted set of descriptive and atmospheric songs. With a jazz-trained voice that's capable of delivering plenty of convincing emotion to her material, Pronsky's performance stands head and shoulders above most of her contemporaries, especially in combination with her superlative writing skills. Pretty close to perfection, the whole package is nicely paced with a well-judged balance of subject matter that deals with the familliar themese of love and loss without recourse to cliche. An album that comes into sharper focus with each hearing. Viewfinder reveals Pronsky to be an outstanding lyricist with the ability to stop you in your tracks.

• Americana UK [+ Show ]
  

  Her third album, 'Viewfinder' is music for the generation; largely a reflection of recession, war an...Her third album, 'Viewfinder' is music for the generation; largely a reflection of recession, war and loss and how it has affected our lives. However, to read between the lines and decipher the abstract and metaphorical content of her words is to take heart. She is an optimist. Her heart is strong but tender. Her words are at first disillusioned but then point to a better future, her melodies both exhilarating and haunting and her delivery immaculate... It’s clear that this lady’s crooning chords have been honed to perfection. And it’s not for the ipod shuffle setting either. Although there are potential hits at every turn something about the gradual unravelling of her perceptions makes this more of a start to finish in a comfy armchair listen, or indeed a dimly lit basement bar with a gin and tonic. Its thinking music while so many of her contemporaries remain background... Currently touring the UK (I caught her at Camden Town’s Green Note), it seems she is finally ready to take us by storm over here.

• Philadelphia City Paper [+ Show ]
  

  2011: Viewfinder, Rebecca Pronsky's third full-length, gets off to a strong start with "Hard Times";...2011: Viewfinder, Rebecca Pronsky's third full-length, gets off to a strong start with "Hard Times"; its galloping pace, brooding pedal steel and firm vocals set the tone for the darkness to come. But the disc's first peak comes just a song later, with "Day of the Dead." By the time she reaches the album's other side, she's been on the wrong end of a breakup, the wrong part of town and the wrong point of a love triangle. So when Viewfinder rolls to a close with the grateful, loping "Good Life," you know she's earned it.
  
  2008: TOP TEN ALBUMS OF THE YEAR CRITIC'S LIST -- Rebecca Pronsky struck a deep chord on last year's Departures & Arrivals, with a little twang and a lot of empathy.

Setlist

Almost entirely originals. We generally draw from these tunes but have many more we can do and some country/twangy covers too:
Border Town
Million Days
Big Kid
Gone
New Haven
Digging Graves
Big City Lights
Birds
Road to Nowhere
Hard Times
Road to Nowhere
Best Game in Town
All the Birds
Special
Fragile World
Waterways
Anything But Good
Aberdeen
Shame
Give Up Too Easily
Day of the Dead
The Wheel
Mercury News
Good Life
Movin' Out West
Come Down
Another
Rise Up
Big Demands
Red Eyes
Better That Way
Cold Hard Cash
Glenn Tipton
The Garden
Please Forget Me

Basic Requirements

Calendar