The crowd cheered as J.S. Ondara peeked his head out the stage door, trotted down the steps, and took center stage. But as he launched into an acapella version of “Turkish Bandana”, the crowd stilled, all eyes on the pink-suited, ruffle-shirted young man in the fedora crooning in front of five microphones. For the next hour and twenty, the sold-out crowd at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 2nd was spell-bound as he played every song from his excellent and well-reviewed 2019 album Tales of America.
Unlike his earlier tour this past Spring, Ondara brought a 4-piece band who joined to fill out the sound, though he used them on only four of the songs. The guitarist stood out as he and Ondara traded back and forth on guitar and when Ondara let him loose on “American Dream” and “Lebanon”. The bassist’s bottom contrasted well with the much higher guitar and vocal flow. The middle eight songs of the set were just Ondara, his guitar, his songs, and some brief banter including an excellent “Master O’Connor” and “Good Question”. He closed by bringing the band back on for “Lebanon” and encore “Saying Goodbye”.
A Kenyan immigrant who won the green card lottery and came to Minneapolis in the waning months of the Obama administration, his songs paint a story of a newcomer’s experience in America, touching on the illusion of the American dream. In “God Bless America” he dreams of a better nation where “when the time it is sweet, it won’t matter who your god is, or the tone of your skin, or who you choose to share your love with”. With a unique soulful voice, he challenges you to choose between melting into the beauty of his sound or the power of his stories.
Ondara is working on his sophomore album and also shared two potential candidates – Song A and Song B – for the crowd to react to. And for a name, the setlist notes them as “Angela” and “Russian Roulette.” Let’s hope that the new album is out soon, though he has just re-released Tales with five bonus tracks. As he said, “it’s a rich time to be a folk singer in America”. Let’s hope he keeps forcing us to take a hard look at ourselves.
J.S. Ondara was supported by singer-songwriter Elise Davis whose sparse and very personal songs triggered a close listen. Whether she was singing about depression, death, global warming or the impact of drugs on her hometown in Arkansas, her lyrics were compelling. She was able to successfully navigate that fine line that songwriters often stumble over when tackling serious issues of being sincere without sounding preachy or self-righteous.
