Music Monday: Nicky Egan from the World Cafe Live [VIDEO]

Since the trip to Baltimore for our last Music Monday concert didn't seem quite far enough, this week we traveled to Philadelphia to see Nicky Egan and her band at The World Cafe Live. The trek up I-05 was well worth it however, as the band gave a spirited and soulful performance of authentic sounding original songs and excellently arranged covers. Nicky and most of her band are still in college (a school for music, not surprisingly, in the Boston area) so they don't get to travel too extensively outside of New England but they were able to bring a full band, including horn section and backup vocalists to this New Year's break show, nearly doubling the usual lineup.

Though still students, Nicky and her band definitely know how to put on a fun and interesting show. They obviously know each other very well, both on and off the bandstand, and perform very well together. Their musical training and education is also evident, as they all appear to be excellent artists individual of the band. Moreover, the diversity in songs and styles begs and educated musical background. As Nicky says, the prevailing musical style through every song is 'soul' but every song has a secondary style (or two) as well, such as r&b rock, folk, or the blues. No matter which genre(s) they played, the band performed it excellently together.

The concert was in the downstairs performance space of a large building on the banks of the Schuylkill river which houses a total of two performance spaces (upstairs and downstairs) and the University of Pennsylvania Public Radio Station, amongst other things it would appear. Don't discount this space however just because it is downstairs- it is a huge space with a good sized bar and a large open dancing/seating area in front of a wide stage. There was a large crowd, partially since Nicky and others in the and are from the Philadelphia area, but whether they had a previous familiarity with the band or not, everyone seemed to love the show.

As did I. I really had a great time and think that this is an awesome band with a great future that is well worth knowing. Find out more about them through their MySpace page- http://www.myspace.com/nickyegan

Besides for the interview, we recorded nearly the whole show and are happy to share several songs with you. Be mindful that this is a playlist, not just one song, so once you are finished with the first make sure to check out the other 5 (which you can browse using the thumbnails at the bottom of the player). Enjoy!

A photographer Fabian Checo, was taking some photos of the show. Here is a slideshow of a few of them.

The Line Up:

Nicky Egan-- Vocals

Eli Winderman-- Keys, Organ

Johnny Simon--Guitar

Chuck Jones-- Bass

Mark Purrington-- Drums

Josh Schwartz-- Horn Section

Greg Sanderson-- Horn Section

Chris Brouwers-- Horn Section

Vanessa Winters-- Vocals

Kristin Brooks-- Vocals

*Jesse Dee-- Vocals

*Johnny Trama-- Guitar

*On 'I'd Rather Go Blind'. Also, was the opening act for the evening

Read more 'Music Monday' articles at www.SumofChange.com/musicmonday