Meghan Magrath and Lisa Bettencourt

Womenfolk

The Duplex, NYC, February 23, 2018

Reviewed by Chris Struck for Cabaret Scenes

Celebrating the women of folk through a relaxed mix of story and song, Meghan Magrath and Lisa Bettencourt combined their vocal talents to create the musical equivalent of butter and bread through a pleasant blend of low and high. Magrath’s well-trained lows and Bettencourt’s strong highs eased us into a sweet mood from the first song. Their combination hit especially well on a revival of the Irish bard’s darling, “Once I Had a Sweetheart” (unknown origins) where they traded off pining for a lost love. They also harmonized for smooth listening on 1964’s “Bring Me a Rose” (Ernie Sheldon) from the band that gave the show its title, The Womenfolk. Magrath’s softness through the line “Bring me a rose in the wintertime/It’s so easy to forget” couldn’t have been more enchanting.

From there, the duo traded sharing some of the history of the American folk music revival in the ’60s and ’70s, focusing on some of the best singers who found inspiration in twangier melodies. Two of my favorite choices were Joan Baez’s “Diamonds and Rust” (about her love affair with Bob Dylan) and, of course, Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.” Bettencourt was solid on the guitar and consistent through harder-pick pieces. Violinist Danielle Marien Turano joined the duo for most songs and was slightly more impressive on a handful of moving solos. While the devil wasn’t going down to Georgia, the trio did leave on a jet plane (John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane”). Bettencourt will be back in action on March 10 at The Bitter End in her duo, Pretty Sad White Girls, for a musical comedy set.