Quotes Inside Entertainment February 2007 “Folk-festival sensations, thrilling audiences with their homespun musicianship and back-porch harmonies.” ~ Nicholas Jennings Rolling Stone Online Magazine September 16, 2003 "With enough sultry ambiance to be at home in either cocktail lounge or New Orleans street corner, Po' Girl features a simple, polished production of wistful, plaintively slurred vocals over a sparse yet warm jazz-folk accompaniment of guitar, stand-up bass, harmonica, banjo and clarinet. Americana can seem like a language from a forgotten era, but Po' Girl's sentiment never feels forced, the lyricism never cliche or false. They manage to maintain that traditional and nostalgic sound while the breathing fresh life into an old-fashioned genre." ~ Christina Saraceno "Their uplifting take on American folk music, combining it with Jazz, roots and a little bit of pretty much everything else, has the ability to put a smile on anyone's face." - Glasgow Americana Festival, May 2009 "Po' Girl is rough and smooth, sweet and tart, and would be huge stars in that super-cool alternate universe I've always wanted to live in." - John Schlotfelt, Little Village Magazine, Iowa City, February 2009 "As the brand new 'Deer in the Night' attests, their cozy harmonious amalgam of jazz, Americana/roots string music and European folk just keeps getting better." - Iowa City Press Citizen, 2009 "'Deer in the Night' sees Po' Girl bring a fresh clarity to their self styled urban roots music, distilling the seemingly instinctive interplay and magical chemistry between Allison and Awna into life affirming and soulful jams." Alan Pedder, Where's the Trousers Magazine Evanston Review February 2007 “...a veritable force of nature with a sound that alludes to country, blues, jazz, gospel and folk without falling squarely in any one of those categories” ~ Jeff Wisser Music Box February 2007 “the band’s poetic ruminations have continued to mature and evolve, and in concocting a narrative arc that binds together the collection’s components, Po’ Girl has crafted its most sophisticated and resonant outing to date” ~ John Metzger The Silhouette February 2007 “At first, Po’Girl is quite reminiscent of groups such as the Dixie Chicks. But as the album unfolds, a greater degree of experimentation, a wider array of influences, and simple-yet-complex lyrics make Po’Girl a group that more people need to hear.” ~ Chris Martin The Morning Call Online February 2007 “naturally soulful vocals; neatly paced, neatly spaced instrumentals, and a clinging bittersweetness that can’t be bought or bottled” ~ Paula DeAnda Ithaca Times February 2007 “Although Po’ Girl is inspired by traditions of past decades…they deftly sidestep the trap of sounding nostalgic or revivalist.” ~ Natasha Li Pickowicz Boston Herald February 2007 “what makes the group’s frisky, soulful sound remarkable is its convincing embrace of old-time jazz and blues” ~ Daniel Gewertz No Depression February 2007 “Po' Girl has the same womanly (not girlish, mind you) croon of the 1920s and '30s blues mamas - yet their music isn't of another era” ~ Katy June-Friesen Reviews Santa Barbara News-Press Dec 15, 2008 By Josef Woodard Po' Girl, the Canadian roots-and-thensome band, is a work in progress, like any band with its creative lights on. We've seen said progress unfold nicely, right here in Santa Barbara, in the comfy confines of Lobero Theatre. Two years ago, the band played there, and it returned Saturday in a more refined and reassured glory, headlining the Sings Like Hell series. In a local angle once-removed, the band stayed at the home of (the now) Austin, Texas-based Sings Like Hell hostess Peggie Jones, while recording its most recent album, "Deer in the Night." In the band's current line-up, the spotlight is on co-leaders Allison Russell and Awna Teixeira. For the occasion of this show, the two bolstered the rhythm section with guest drummer Michael Lightning August, part of the Chicago band JT and the Clouds, who also is in the same circle of musical allies. Saturday's two sets included older material and covers by veteran folk-blues legend Elizabeth Cotton and present-day alt-country cult heroine Julie Miller. But, most encouragingly, the tunes from the new album -- including the title track "Bloom" and "Gasoline" -- were some the strongest songs of the night. The band seems to be in an upwardly evolutionary state at the moment. Ms. Russell, in particular, is singing with more confidence and expressive chutzpah, and she's honing her songwriting skills along with Ms. Teixeira. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the beautiful Ms. Russell adds refreshing twists of soulfulness and bluesy nuance not often heard in the current world of Americana or the general singer-songwriter scene. Ms. Teixeira's own voice, an ideal harmony foil in cahoots with Ms. Russell, mixes sweetness and salty-doggedness, to great effect. Both are handy multi-instrumentalists, Ms. Russell breaking out her clarinet, guitar and banjo, and Ms. Teixeira handling the bass, washtub and accordion (although that tool was used all too rarely). Yet the real multi-instrumentalist award had to go to the latest addition to the group, Benny Sidelinger, a handy side man who played claw-hammer banjo, guitar, keyboard and some tasty dobro, and is a luthier (guitar maker), to boot. Some of the instruments onstage were his. On this night, billed as "Po' Girl and Friends," the faction included Michael Jerome, who added percussion textures on the cajon, and Huck Notari, who joined the stage late in the show, singing a couple of impressive Townes Van Zandt-like songs before fleshing out the ensemble sound on keyboards. Another friend was Glen Phillips, Santa Barbara's own pop star-cum-sensitive and witty singer-songwriter, who stopped by for a couple songs early in the show, before moving on to other engagements. It was warming to find Mr. Phillips playing guitar, after his being deprived of that activity by a recent arm injury, and his music benefited from the Girls' touch on harmonies and good, hip vibrations. Mr. Phillips' dark -- but not caustic -- wit emerged in an original song "Solar Flare," a happy and hooky end-of-the-world number he introduced as a "little radiation poisoning song." It opens with the line "Goodnight, moon" and runs through other cosmic victims in a solar flare incident, ending up in a cheerful wordless chant. The song, from Mr. Phillips' recent EP "Secrets of the New Explorers" (made with former Santa Barbaran John Askew), is an unlikely pop anthem and should be a hit single. As Po' Girl and friends wrapped up the evening with a rousing clap-along a cappella tune and a socio-politically charged song, the stylistic pendulum swung even further in the final stretch. Moving from folk to bluegrass to soul, folk-jazz and Acadian sounds, Po' Girl is finding its path on many roads at once. It's about much more than accordions and banjos. Universality in music is hard to avoid at times. While it might not have been a holiday show, by dint of the songs, the concert's spirit seemed seasonal in its own way -- warm, willing and embracing of diverse perspectives. And to all a good night. ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL Friday, November 9, 2007 Po' Girl Rich With Talent By David Steinberg Journal Staff Writer Po' Girl may be a quartet, but in any given concert you're likely to hear them playing a dozen instruments. "Different songs call for different instruments," said Allison Russell, Po' Girl's lead vocalist who sings with a hypnotic vibrato. "I write songs on guitar, piano, banjo and clarinet." The ensemble, which blends elements of folk and jazz, will be in concert tonight in Pinos Altos and Saturday, Nov. 10, at Albuquerque's Lobo Theater. Po' Girl is a gender twist on the name for New Orleans' Po' Boy sandwich. But being female is no requirement for membership in the band. Men have been in the band, and recently Benny Sidelinger replaced Trish Klein. "It was a sudden thing with Trish," Russell said in a phone interview from Death Valley, Calif. "It came after a grueling year touring, including going to Cameroon. ... Trish got quite ill when we were in Cameroon. She was feeling physically run down." Russell said the band had to scramble to find a replacement on short notice. Sidelinger, a luthier-friend who has made guitars for Po' Girl, agreed to step in. "We've clicked so well. It's such a natural fit," Russell said. Sidelinger plays guitar, dobro and banjo. The others in the band are Diona Davis, who plays violin, acoustic guitar and Wurlitzer, and Awna Teixeira on electric bass, washtub bass, harmonica and acoustic guitar. Russell said the band members like the nomadic life. In Cameroon, they performed at a women's festival. In Alaska, friends flew them around glaciers. "That happens on a regular basis," she said. "People invite us to their homes and we have friends for life. A lot of bands get caught up in the road and forget to stop and smell the flowers." Po' Girl does plan to take a break in December and January before returning to the road in February with renewed energy. **Diona Davies has since left the band (in 2008). Po' Girl is now Allison Russell, Awna Teixeira, Benny Sidelinger and JJ Jones, our fabulous drummer!