Spirit Family Reunion (#26 in our latest Best of NYC Emerging Artists Year End Poll) is one of those bands seen playing in the subway, in the back of noisy bars, or on busy street corners, going unnoticed to bright lights and mobs of listless pedestrians with their earbuds at full blast. Or at least that’s what their cracked and weathered sound would make you believe. Their songs are drenched in soul and the twang of the banjo, taking the Brooklyn band far beyond the ordinary bluegrass rock group. Traveling as far south as they do north, Sprit Family Reunion are a gospel-infused reminder of everything that makes roots music great. The band ill make their Newport Folk Festival debut this summer but you can catch them in their hometown on May 12 at Mercury Lounge, playing songs from their forthcoming debut album, which they’re mixing as we speak. – Devon Antonetti
