"The Onion" Volume 43 Number 06

Arum Rae 3 Kings Tavern, 9pm $5, 21+
Virginian singer-songwriter Arum Rae Valkonen named her 2006 debut Too Young To Sing the Blues, but she hardly lives up to the title. In fact, blues is slopped all over her songs, a ragged batch of swampy riffs and full-bodied twang, that belies her status as an alum of the prestigious Berklee College of Music. The disc is surprisingly raw considering it features backing by musicians who have played with Tom Waits, Ani DiFranco, Norah Jones, and Paul Simon- but somehow, Arum Rae is able to conduct all this talent into something spontaneous and soulfully rich. The last time she played Denver it was in a junkyard, so the raucous environs of 3 Kings will be a step up.

(this was for a show I played in Denver

"...Rae has an astonishing vocal range, she has produced an effortlessly cool and fascinating record..." AmericanaUK