Natalie Jane Hill; Nic Panken; and Sam & Louise
Johnny Brenda's
1201 Frankford Ave.
Philadelphia
July 14, 2025
There are concerts that achieve a degree of intimacy, and then there are shows where the performer’s dog is sleeping on the stage beside her, her partner playing electric organ so quietly it can only be that their primary concern is to let the dog rest.
Natalie Jane Hill – accompanied by Mat Davidson, who performs beautifully soulful music in his own right under the name Twain – headlined Johnny Brenda’s this past Monday, while a sudden heavy rainstorm fell imperceptibly to us outside. The North Carolina-based Texas native was supported on the bill by Nic Panken, currently of Kingston, New York, and local brother-sister duo Sam & Louise Sullivan.
Due to the suddenness and the heaviness of the aforementioned storm, and my own faulty reading comprehension, I arrived just in time to catch the end of Sam & Louise’s set — which is just as well, considering I had just played electric guitar in their six-piece backing band for a weekend run of the northeast, performing in New Haven, Boston and Ridgewood, Queens. Suffice it to say I am uniquely unqualified to write about these two without bias. I adore them and think they’re some of the best songwriters going, whether fronting a powerhouse rhythm-and-blues unit or in a more stripped-down, folky setup. And their last song, “I Got a Light," sounded great. (They are releasing their second album in August, with three singles out at the time of this writing, and I highly recommend it.)
Nic Panken took the stage next. Speaking of fronting powerhouse bands, Nic is known for taking center stage with the band Spirit Family Reunion, who were particularly active on the folk scene a decade and change ago. And a mighty band they were; I’d call it heavy-artillery folk, rhythmic and driving, forcing floorboards to wince wherever they’d show up. Panken has a new album coming soon, his first under his own name and his first new songs under any name in some years. With an old Harmony electric guitar gently tremoloing in his grip, Panken performed a set of songs that recalled, for me, The Waterboys, or Phil Ochs at his most romantic (see “Song of My Returning”, an old favorite). Whether deftly fingerpicking, the pinky of his picking hand firmly planted on the Harmony’s white pickguard, thumb curled like a hook, or strumming like he was digging the chords up, the constant was Panken’s strong, soulful voice, like a tin can or sea glass.
If Panken’s songs and performance style felt like hard wood sculptures, built to withstand a storm, Natalie Jane Hill was more like a soft breeze that chills you nonetheless. Accompanied by Davidson – himself an alumni of Spirit Family Reunion, I should note – playing the quietest ACE TONE organ I’ve ever heard, and standing by their dog (who only rarely scuttled around the stage, mostly lying at the legs of the organ), Hill played electric guitar and sang in her inimitable way. Her consonants are never sharp; her vibrato is as natural as an unmade bed. Davidson’s organ supported the music from the inside out like a wool undershirt. The melodies flowed, unpredictably but in a calming way. The degree of dynamic control they commanded, within a very narrow range of loudness, was breathtaking at times. Though quiet, and at times peaceful, the music was deeply muscular. It takes a certain kind of strength to provide such a profound sense of musical shelter, whether from storms figurative or literal. If you listened close enough, you might have heard the low and soft breath of their four-legged friend, dreaming of water.
