By K.D. Norris
Serita’s Black Rose comes to local stages in two styles — a big, brassy full band fronted by Serita Crowley and an acoustic duo when her beautiful voice really fills the sound-space. Both are perfect in their place, but there is no denying Crowley’s beautiful, soulful voice was made to be heard clearly.
WKTV caught up with Serita’s Black Rose, the stripped down version with only Crowley accompanied by Jon Hayes on guitar, on Feb. 20 of this year as part of our coverage of the City of Kentwood Winter Concert Series. And she did not disappoint.
If you’re feeling a little cooped-up by the COVID-19 restrictions — and who isn’t? — and longing for a community concert featuring local talent, catch Serita’s Black Rose’s concert on demand here as part of WKTV’s “From Your Couch” concert series.
Crowley proudly calls herself a “Funkateer”, and her big band does bring a “raucous mix of funk, rock, neo-soul and Americana,” she states on her website. But “as an acoustic duo, they play much of the timeless ‘feel good music’ from the 60’s and 70’s.”
We couldn’t agree more, as evidenced by the set WKTV has available.
Maybe it was just the crowd at Kentwood’s library, but she leaned heavily on her classic soft rock catalogue — Cat Stevens “Wild World”, for example — which does fit her “duo acoustic” voice perfectly.
But when she breaks out her harmonica and a little growl — on songs like the classic “Johnny b Goode” and The Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Running (Without Love)” — things really get moving. And near the end of the set, she really shines on a great cover of one of my all-time favorites, the Steve Winwood (with Blind Faith) classic “Can’t Find My Way Home” … Oh, ya. It’s worth the wait.
For a great interview with Crowley and taste of her big band sound, check out a 2018 YouTube video created by Tracy Evans and Founders Brewery as part of a series called Founders Presents.
For more information about Serita’s Black Rose, visit the band’s website here.
If your looking for more great “From Your Couch” concerts, WKTV has a bunch of recent concerts covered by WKTV Community Media and available on-demand at WKTVlive.org.
