CAITLIN ROSEat the Garrision, Friday, April 5. Rating: NNNN
Nashville’s Caitlin Rose has some serious songwriting pedigree and expectations attached to her name, as her Grammy-winning mother, Liz Rose, has written 16 of Taylor Swift’s tunes. Nevertheless, the younger Rose’s approach to country pop is a world apart from Swift’s chart-topping confessionals, and has far more in common with classic Linda Ronstadt or Emmylou Harris. At times, her intimate approach to Americana even evokes a bit of Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac.
Rose isn’t an especially flashy live performer, and seems content to let her crystal-clear singing voice sell her songs to the audience. Her set focused mostly on material from her new album The Stand-In, and kept the arrangements fairly faithful to the recordings, although her band did amp up both the country and rock aspects of her sound. It was a bit surprising that a young artist with this much industry buzz behind her came across so reserved and even a bit shy onstage. But while she may have been light on showmanship, that cool restraint perfectly suits the subtle melancholy of her music.
