Katryna and Narissa Nields singing like you wish you and your sister could.
Driving their parents crazy as they sang their heads off in the back seat (and even trunk! – hey it was the 70’s and they wanted a station wagon) of their car was the genesis of the sweet and powerful harmonies that make Katryna and Nerissa Nields a favorite of folk music fans. Familiar Huntington scenes like swimming at Eagle’s Dock Beach, visiting the Huntington Bohack’s and singing with the family around the campfire are at the root of some great Nields’ tunes. Most everyone who has lived here has a story to tell about commuting into Manhattan and the Nields who lived in Cold Spring Harbor sometime before the dawn of the ‘80s are no different. In fact, their weekly journey from the City to Cold Spring Harbor was fodder for one of their first songs – the “We’re Almost There” song they began performing before they were eight years-old. Keeping with the Huntington homecoming theme, the Nields humored their audience Saturday night with a rendition of train in honor of the LIRR.
WFUV DJ John Platt talks Nields and folk music with the crowd
Saturday night was a blast for a baby boomer-filled audience at the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s concert at the Congregational Church in Centerport as they got to re-live group jam sessions and poignant lyrics thanks to the beautiful sounds of the Nields. These two sisters are funny and comfortable with each other and they draw the audience into an embrace of thought-provoking lyrics. Katryna belts out vocals in a clear strong voice while Nerissa plays the guitar and completes the compositions with a rich harmony that makes you wish your sister was singing alongside of you, carrying a tune.
The Congregational Church in Centerport is one of the FMSH’s core venues. The inside of the church is small and dates back to the 60’s giving it a very comfortable musty and dark wood feel of a hippie church that reminded me of Sunday mass in Telluride, Colorado with the good Father conducting services in Birkenstocks. The acoustics are clear and clean providing a great venue for a folk music performance. Tickets are $20 and the performances you’ll find in this low-key space will pleasantly surprise you.
FMSH's Stuart Markus runs the show.
There was a top-caliber open mic session before the Nields came on. In addition to creating great sounding music, these earth-mother sisters have a gift for storytelling that had this tough Long Island broad shed a tear or two during a song about children growing up. The audience joined in for the last two songs and the two young mothers on the stage simultaneously glowed and looked ready for bed. The crowd was fired up for a good old hootenanny at the house of an FMSH member. A bag of potato chips and a love of music was the price of admission. Folk music lovers in Huntington have more great music coming our way this summer thanks to the efforts of FMSH, a list of their upcoming shows is posted on their site.
Sweet sister sounds filled the room.
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