The deepest catharsis though came from Gretchen Peters who is being more frank than ever in her songs about tragedy, violence and grief. “The only cure for the pain is the pain” she sang at one point. And yet with folk alchemy at work, tales of fratricide (“Blackbirds”), Post Traumatic Stress (“When All You Got Is A Hammer”) and the devastation of an out-of-control oil spill (“Black Ribbons”) filled my heart and felt gorgeous in my ears. Gretchen’s deliberate alto voice is world class and expressive.

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