SISTER SPARROW AT THEATRE OF THE LIVING ARTS IN PHILADELPHIA, PA
I couldn’t think of a better way to start my weekend off right than seeing Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds at The Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia on the Gold Tour. With support from Levee Drivers, the evening was filled with great people, great energy, and great music.
Levee Drivers opened up the show and entertained the audience with a great selection of songs. The rock band have a little bit of a country twist to them and did a good job of mixing faster and slower paced songs to keep the audience relaxed, but still ready to have a great time. They performed tracks such as “Cinnamon Eyes” and even threw in a cover of “Jolene”. The band provided some friendly conversation with audience members and kept the atmosphere light and welcoming. Whenever the band played songs they don’t normally play, they kept a running joke of telling the audience “…So we’re gonna play it at the TLA.” Levee Drivers did a great job of getting the audience warmed up and ready to dance for Sister Sparrow.
When Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds took the stage I had the excited butterflies just looking at the lineup. You know you’re in for a good night when the band has a mini horn section and a harmonica player. The musicianship displayed by the members of the band was incredible. If lead vocalist Arleigh Kincheloe wasn’t busy impressing the audience with her incredible vocal range and technique, then you could count on the one of the band members to be ripping a huge solo. Have you ever heard someone absolutely kill a two minute harmonica solo? If you haven’t then you have no idea what you’re missing out on. The performance was so unique and it was amazing to see how energized the band was on stage. Later on in the set Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds covered Aretha Franklin’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and it was such a beautiful performance. Kincheloe was able to really show off her vocals throughout the song and it gave me the chills. When they announced that this was actually their second performance of the day (having done something for WXPN earlier), my jaw almost hit the floor. The stamina the band has to be able to perform the way they did after such a busy day was proof of how dedicated these musicians are to their craft. Watching audience members go crazy dancing and having fun with their friends gave the show the feel good vibe that is apparent through their music.
I can’t recommend seeing Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds enough on this tour. There are still some dates left on this tour, which means there’s still time for you to experience this awesome show!
Nicole DiBenedetto is a photographer based out of New Jersey. She likes making new friends and meeting new people so catch her out in the pit and say hi!