Rising Sun Presents Booker Jesse Lundy Taps Little Barrie, Theo Lawrence, Eleni Mandell For Ears We Trust

If you’re a regular at Philadelphia area shows, chances high are you’ve been to a show organized by Rising Sun Presents booker Jesse Lundy. We hit him up for this week’s Ears We Trust, and he shared some retro pop country, an electric live performance from Little Barrie and Malcolm Catto, and a singer songwriter who’s got a local gig in June.

Theo Lawrence – I’ve Got A Mind For Loving You

I was turned on to Theo Lawrence by my buddy Timmy O. during the pandemic. Wow… a Frenchman who sings American country music (Americana, depending who you ask) better than most Americans. He ended up moving to Austin and getting a residency at the Continental Club and suddenly it’s starting to happen. He’s got an agent who we at Rising Sun Presents love and will serve him well. This song came out in April and continues his latest direction of this wonderfully ’60s-tinged pop. He’s out opening the Allison Krauss tour this summer. You watch, it’s going to happen.

Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto – Electric War (Live on KEXP)

Fun story: a few years ago I was searching YouTube for videos about Danny Kirwin, the second guitarist in Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. A massive hero. And here’s a video of Barry Cadogan explaining why Danny’s so great and playing Danny songs with his band. I was impressed but never went deeper on who Barry is. A few weeks ago, I got interested and found this KEXP performance and I have to say this music is so totally up my alley that I almost can’t believe it. So I start raving to my friends and apparently I’m the last person to “discover” Little Barrie. I texted Dan Reed to evangelize and he informed me that XPN has been playing Little Barrie all along and laid the NEW single on me. So it seems this one got by my algorithm and I have WXPN to thank for letting me hear this music on the radio

Eleni Mandell – “Man on Fire”

Since her first album, I’ve thought Eleni Mandell is one of the best singer songwriters. Not just someone deadpan singing about her feelings; rather, someone who puts a ton of nuance into every phrase. She’s been a staple on the Los Angeles scene since the late ’90s, working with super credible people like Jon Brion and Josh Grange. I’ve done shows with her in the past, but Philly has never been a market where she had a large fan base. But my wife, Tara, and I are fans who pre-order her vinyl and will go out of our way to see her… real fans. Eleni has a new album coming out in a few weeks, and Tara and I will be hosting a show with her at 48 Record Bar on July 22, hope you all can make it!