NYC singer Amy León offers a unique and powerful blend of spoken word and soul, through a delivery that fuses singing and poetry. She tackles social inequality and celebrates blackness in her most poignant track, “Burning in Birmingham,” which starts as a soul ballad and turns to spoken word: “Didn’t I die for them? / Didn’t we do this already? / Who let Jim back in the White House?” Her voice is soothing, her lyrics stop-you-in-your-tracks striking, and her music builds to a point where it sounds as if it might burst. The way she reaches a chaotic, bustling climax in both “Burning in Birmingham” and “Child of the Sun” seems to express some sort of catharsis for León, a form of healing through art. Don’t miss the chance to see her unique style on June 5th at Baby’s All Right. -Lily Crandall
