Russell Lacy performs at the Red Room. Photo by Zac Taylor.

By Zac Taylor
Managing Editor

This past Saturday at the Red Room was a rootsy, soulful evening of blues-infused indie Americana. Opening the show was Russell Lacy, who’s often a lead gun for hire for a handful of country rock bands in the neighborhood. He welcomed the crowd by playing all by his lonesome, accompanying himself with either a 6-string or 12-string acoustic guitar, sultry fingerstyle pickin’, bluesy harmonia riffin’, and boot heel-stompin.’ Audience members sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the stage, and stood in the back, to take in the heartfelt tunes likes “Sweet Virginia” and “Angelina.” Imagine Ray Lamontagne took some delta blues guitar lessons and sang with a little more old-timey twang. Pedal Steelist Tommy Bohlen sat in on a couple of numbers, which was a welcomed addition to this tasty appetizer of acoustic blues.

Next up were local darlings Nini+Ben, who have since morphed into a quintet, since guitar slinger extraordinaire Johnny Duke is Nashville-bound. Their Americana-meets-Norah Jones sound has been perfected over the last few months with relentless touring in support of their debut LP The Reasons We Try. Tommy Bohlen’s pedal steel melts into the thumpin’ groove provided by bassist Derek McWilliams and drummer Jake Cohen. The chemistry between lead singer Nini Fabi and her beau Ben Gebert is undeniably moving. Crowd-pleasers “Shine” and “Mother” held a firm grip on the audience, many of whom were singing along to just about every tune.

New York-based trio the Spring Standards closed the evening with an energetic set of lead-singer-switching indie pop. The experience of James, Heather, and James definitely comes across with their impeccably-crafted tunes and engaging performance.