The Bargain Feat. Riley Cotton and Still Rivers
Audio Feed
Old State House Food Court
Hartford
Sept. 25, 2024
Hartford’s Audio Feed concert series moved back indoors this week with The Bargain performing at the Old State House Food Court. And it truly was a bargain, because the gathered audience got not one, but three different performers throughout the hour-long set.
The Bargain, consisting of Frank Critelli on lead vocals, Shandy Lawson on the mandolin and Muddy Rivers on the guitar, was the headliner for the event. They brought along friend Riley Cotton, whom they’d met in the music scene and whose sound they love.
What I enjoyed the most about The Bargain was that they looked like they were having fun while performing. They talked and joked between songs in their set, and made conversation with the lunch crowd, who were there to take in some tunes while eating their lunch. Frank Critelli embodied the exuberant, playful energy of the rest of the performers.
“I heard they play fast and loose with the rules here in Hartford,” he said after one of their songs. “So when we’re done here, I’m not getting one, but two poke bowls!”
That same energy was present in their music. The band’s improvisational style meshed perfectly with the various performers’ desire to play music. While the song was written for the three members of The Bargain, they invited Cotton to join in on the vocals; she blended in with the rest of the group without a hitch.
Lawson returned the favor when Cotton took the stage to sing one of her singles, adding the delicate strumming of the mandolin like ornamentation to the earthy tone of Cotton’s lyrical voice. She nodded approvingly as he joined in, and the two made a new sound that the audience, and probably they themselves, hadn’t anticipated.
"Our Little Life" by Still Rivers
The performance also served as a showcase for some of the band’s other friends. About halfway through the set, Chandra Rivers joined her husband Muddy to play a new song from their upcoming album, Our Little Life. It’s a song about the need to persevere and endure even in the face of life’s great challenges. As with the other songs, the members of The Bargain joined in and helped the performance along.
Frank told me that he’s known Shandy and Muddy for decades, but that they didn’t start performing together until after the pandemic hit. All of their songs are written by the members. Each one has their own side projects that they write music for as well.
Riley is a relative newcomer to performing live. She’s been at it for almost two years after being discovered singing karaoke in a bar. She comes by her musical talent honestly, though, as both her father and brother are drummers.
As I watched the performance, I felt the spirit of music moving around and through everyone who took to the stage. They weren’t intruding on each other’s performances, but instead had such love for music bursting forth from within that they had to let it out. It heightened my enjoyment of the music — it’s always better when you can tell that the performers love what they’re doing.
Three groups for the price of one was a terrific surprise at The Bargain’s performance, and it’s going to be hard for Audio Feed to top the sheer amount of music that they managed to cram into just an hour.
NEXTThe Bargain will be at the Glastonbury Apple Harvest and Music Festival Oct. 19.
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