You may remember a few weeks back I interviewed KR friends Exit Clov in anticipation of their East Coast tour and some of their rockin’ new music. They performed at Brooklyn’s Public Assembly with a relatively unknown group called Milly Beau (recently signed to Greenhouse Records). (I came in to the concert thinking Milly Beau was a person – really did not know much, nor did I expect much.) But boy, was I in for a huge surprise. Milly Beau is fronted by the incredibly talented MaryBeth Doran, just a year removed from George Washington University in D.C. (loving this D.C. NYC connection.) Her voice is stunningly gorgeous; I can’t describe it any other way (I’m telling you, I was blown away.) And while she could easily sit back and let her vocals do all the work with some simple songs, she mixes it up big time with Milly Beau, throwing listeners for a loop with an extraordinary stage presence and a rollicking live show that makes their minimalist music sound anything but. The tunes were written by Aaron Leeder and John Thayer (of Exit Clov) along with Doran. Knox Road will be posting mp3s from Milly Beau soon, so continue to check back here. But in the meantime enjoy Milly Beau streaming on MySpace. Mark my words: this is a band more than ready to hit the big time.

But that’s not all I’m here to write about this time. Doran informed KR of an upcoming festival she’s co-hosting in order to promote and benefit the best young and rising artistic talents in NYC – including both singer/songwriters as well as poets. The debut R.I.S.E (Rising Independent Singer Songwriter and Spoken Word Evening) event will be taking place this Tuesday, April 21, from 8 to 10:30 pm at the Nuyorican Poet Cafe in alphabet city. You can, and should, read the official press release after the jump. They are looking for future performers, so if you’re interested check the contact info below.

Continue reading R.I.S.E: “Rising Independent Singer Songwriter and Spoken Word Evening” feat. Milly Beau’s MaryBeth Doran →