Twin Forks at the Bowery Ballroom

Chris Carrabba

Chris Carrabba was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, and lived there until age 16, when he moved with his divorced mother to Boca Raton, Florida. As a teenager, Carrabba sang in his high school choir, played the guitar his uncle gave him, and recorded his first solo album for the enjoyment of his family and friends. After graduating from high school, Carrabba joined his first band, the Vacant Andys, and later, the Agency. While working as a special education teacher at an elementary school in 1998, he joined the group Further Seems Forever in Pompano Beach, Florida, and in 1999 started Dashboard Confessional as a side project. With both bands on hiatus in 2011, Carraba formed Twin Forks in Boca Raton, Florida; the band is currently based out of Nashville, Tennessee. Twin Forks' current members are Carrabba on vocals and guitar, Sara Ellen on vocals, Kelsie Baron on vocals and mandolin, Jonathan Clark on bass and Shawn Zorn on drums. Twin Forks released a self-titled EP in 2013 and a self-titled album in 2014.

Headlining at the Bowery Ballroom tonight, Twin Forks brought a pop-flavored Americana that fell somewhere between the Lumineers and Johnnyswim. The music felt like it was back-porch home spun, yet built up to catchy choruses so often that the set more readily might be flagged as commercial pop music. The band spun classic folk and country ingredients beyond their heritage into breezy, playful diddies that easily put a swing in one's hips. Typically, Carrabba soulfully sang alone the verses that escalated quickly to twinned male-female harmonies, where the inevitable punch was landed. Most of the set consisted of original songs, but these were interspersed with covers, notably Talking Heads' "And She Was," which Twin Forks refashioned into its own identity. Slick as it was, Twin Forks' performance successfully married with integrity its fireside folk roots with mainstream sounds.

Visit Twin Forks at www.twinforksmusic.com.