Scott Mulvahill Reimagines The Narrative Of Singer-Songwriter
It’s the Sunday night of the return of Game of Thrones, and the weather is on and off rain, but inside Rockwood Music Hall in New York City’s East Village an enthusiastic crowd is hanging on Scott Mulvahill’s every note. That’s the affect the Nashville-based Mulvahill has been having on listeners both through his youtube videos—incuding his NPR Tiny Desk Concert—and on this his first national tour, in support of his dazzling, dozen-track debut, Himalayas. Sure, a singer-songwriter who accompanies himself on acoustic bass is novel. But the credit for said devotion goes to his evocative, from-the-heart songs, reach-for-it vocals, and crafty, fill-in-the-band bass lines (Nashville guitarist/vocalist Zach Torres is providing additional support on this run).
Like all great artists, Mulvahill makes what he does look easy and natural. In truth, there’s a litany of endlessly-practiced, precision moves to coordinate the plucks, string and body slaps, counterlines, and vocals that