"It's good to be home," says The Ballroom Thieves' Calin Peters, as her other half Martin Earley nods in agreement. The New England-based duo closed out their latest tour with two hometown stops, one at The State Theater, and a second at The Sinclair in Cambridge earlier this month, joined by Maine-based singer-songwriter Griffin William Sherry.
There's something tricky about defining "home," but for The Ballroom Thieves it seems home is found in the relationships we nurture in a world rapt with evolution and change. Self-defined “genre traders," The Ballroom Thieves seamlessly blend elements from folk, rock, and soul in order to create their unique and intimate sound. Poetic lyrics dotted with the duo’s dry wit round contextualize their tracks with themes of love, passionate anger, and personal empowerment. It’s a beautiful sight, and to top it all off, they put on an impeccable live show.
Throughout their set, the duo perfectly balanced more delicate tracks like “Canary” and “Bees,” with grittier heavy hitters like “Fistfight” and “Wolf." More than anything else, Peter's and Earley's masterful songwriting and vocal harmonies shine in their live performance. In an encore performance of “Blues," the duo belted harmonizes over Earley’s gentle acoustic strums, creating one of the most powerful vocal displays I’ve seen in a live show. Wrapping up the night with two covers (one of Hugh Martin’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the other “I Love You Always Forever” by Donna Lewis), The Ballroom Thieves brought their latest tour cycle to a close.
While The Ballroom Thieves get some much deserved rest, if you haven’t had the opportunity to check out the duo’s latest album, Clouds, I can’t recommend it enough; it’s an absolute treat from front to back and packed with everything that makes The Ballroom Thieves shine.
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