My Brightest Diamond & yMusic: Photos from Castle Clinton Show on July 7th

DOWNLOAD: My Brightest Diamond - "All Things Will Unwind" (from the forthcoming disc Reaching Through to the Other Side)

My Brightest Diamond (aka Shara Worden and Brian Wolfe) premiered their forthcoming disc All Things Will Unwind (Asthmatic Kitty) backed by six-piece chamber-pop ensemble yMusic at the second-to-last River to River Festival show for 2011 at Castle Clinton.

From My Brightest Diamond - Castle Clinton

yMusic (who have just launched a KickStarter campaign to raise funds for their new album) started the evening with an instrumental piece prior to Shara and Brian taking the stage.

From My Brightest Diamond - Castle Clinton

From My Brightest Diamond - Castle Clinton

From My Brightest Diamond - Castle Clinton

From My Brightest Diamond - Castle Clinton

My Brightest Diamond played the entirety of their forthcoming album (out October 18th) along with three instrumental pieces that Shara composed for yMusic and dancer Jessica Dessner. These instrumentals were slotted in between tracks from the new album and Shara donned a "Residents-like" mask while Jessica danced.

From My Brightest Diamond - Castle Clinton

From My Brightest Diamond - Castle Clinton

From My Brightest Diamond - Castle Clinton

To echo a comment from The Indie Handbook's review of a recent My Brightest Diamond concert - I was transfixed throughout the show. The tight interplay between yMusic and Shara was incredible and Shara's "stream-of-conscious" stage banter made this seem like a concert in your living room as opposed to a decent-sized outdoor public space. There was a warmth and a sense of unity and purpose between all the members of the band that added to the charm of the evening.

My Brightest Diamond's next local show is opening for Sufjan Stevens at Prospect Park Bandshell on August 2nd. Tickets are still available and are $35.

Links:
My Brightest Diamond

My Brightest Diamond with yMusic Plays Free River to River Festival Show at Castle Clinton on July 7th

"I witnessed something I have never seen before: an entire audience transfixed – jaws scraping the floor and people pulling at their hair in rapt amazement – hundreds awash in power and intimacy, under a blanket of music and dance, punctuated by squeals of a baby in the back at the sound of his mother onstage." - The Indie Handbook review of My Brightest Diamond & yMusic at the MusicNOW Festival

My Brightest Diamond will be playing a FREE show for the River to River festival at Castle Clinton in Battery Park in NYC on July 7th at 7pm. The most amazing chamber ensemble, yMusic , will be joining Shara & drummer Brian Wolfe, to perform the new MBD album from top to bottom, as well as playing three instrumental pieces that Shara composed for yMusic & dancer Jessica Dessner.

Free tickets are available online starting Monday, July 4th at Noon and at the gate on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 5PM on the the day of the show.



My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer/songwriter Shara Worden, who is the granddaughter of an Epiphone-strumming traveling evangelist, her father is an accomplished accordionist and her mother a classical organist. As a young person, Worden sang in church with her family and competed internationally with her high school chamber choir. She received a BA in Opera from the University of North Texas and studied composition with Padma Newsome. Her band, My Brightest Diamond, has released Bring Me The Workhorse (2006) and A Thousand Shark’s Teeth (2008) on Asthmatic Kitty Records. In addition to her own songwriting endeavors (a new album is imminent), she has recently collaborated with myriad artists, including The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, David Byrne, Matthew Barney and Sarah Kirkland Snider. On this night she will join forces with a young but sophisticatedly scrappy group of players called yMusic who have backed the likes of Antony and The Johnsons, Arcade Fire, Beth Orton and Spoon to name a few. A night of incredible versatility in a place called home, Shara and her musical wanderers will leave you in a beautiful daze.

Links:
My Brightest Diamond