bluegrass VOICE, cabaret style

Most of the recital, "Songs That Celebrate Art and Our World", was offered in black and white.
I very much liked that, as that medium allowed the details on her dress to dazzle.
It looked to be brocade, with a velvety embossing, and the high-low style was like my wedding dress (from thirty years ago).
The songstress: Emily Yocum Black.
The place: the Carson Center for the Performing Arts, Paducah, Kentucky.
She was accompanied by Cindy Miller on piano.

The bulk of the recital was right here, on this stage, with the singer facing the rear of the stage, not the empty chairs and loges.
I found that comforting, as it was reminiscent of the cabaret performances at the Lucas Theatre, with the audience sitting on the stage and looking outward.
Once I drew that correlation, the empty seats became 'normal'.
Plus, I was sure her husband was in the on-stage audience, quietly cheering her on.
(smile)

I very much liked that she loved this place where she lived and wanted to share some of its delights with us.
She did that by sometimes interspersing "something different" between the songs.
This time, she provided the backstory for "Gretchen am Spinnrade", a girl with a spinning wheel, missing her love, Faust.
And where did she read it?
Outside The National Quilt Museum, of course!

Another time, she was reading (reading), reading (reading), reading by the river!
(See that joke I worked in with a bit of Tina Turner?)
The song, "Youkali", was a tango in a French play titled "Marie Galante"... with music by Kurt Weill.
I recognized his name from the third episode of svf-8, the "lonely street" song - nice!
This song was about a soul looking for a place of solace...
ah, yes, another wistful paean!
(smile)

About mid-show, she introduced us to Brittany Martin, a fellow student of The VOICE Experience and resident of Paducah.
They performed one song, "How Can I Keep From Singing", and my favorite part was hearing them perform it as a round.
That was so sweetly done!
I'm glad they had their virtual alligators to keep their commitment to social distancing intact.
(smile!)

I'm glad this episode will be reprised at 11 AM tomorrow, as there are several songs I'd like to hear again.
In particular, the four from Jeff Blumenkrantz interest me.
Like Kurt Weill, I am unfamiliar with his works, which may just mean that my horizons need re-broadening.
I appreciate her choice of "Departure" as her final number -
well-played, Emily, well-played!
(smile!)