Kenny Roby from the album Kenny Roby

Kenny Roby from the album Kenny Roby

Kenny Roby (from the album Kenny Roby available on Royal Potato Family Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
Kenny Roby is front-porch funky. The North Carolina native, and founding member of the now defunct Alt Country outfit Six String Drag, has dropped another solo effort (his seventh), that hits on humanity, standing at a meeting point between sadness and optimism. That’s standard Folk fair, but musically, Kenny Roby drops more than traditional melody, hinting around something different, laying down a smidgen of groove that bumps this record into a Roots Lounge realm.
That optimism lives in the opener in “New Day” as Kenny Roby drops into R&B territory where he’s slow funky and laid-back cool.  The same reserve rolls into “Only Once” where Roby looks back with a heavy heart to the past. He leaves the band and the bulk of the instruments behind on the super stripped down “I Call Everybody Buddy”, and he strolls into Freak Folk territory with “Married to a Train”.
“What’s Happenin’ Here” wreaks of a swampy, groovy south. Bluesy and funky, it’s the kind of cut where you’ll snap and sing a long and you’ll feel cooler solely from giving the tune a listen.  “Suzanne” is heavy and sad, and the closer in “Working on a New House” is a fun working tune where the gem is the whistling.
The last few years found Kenny Roby leaving his home of North Carolina for Woodstock, NY territory. Those new surroundings, and its rich musical history, lend to the sound. From the backing vocals of Amy Helm, the thick Band-influenced groove, and the Zimmerman aka Dylan narratives, Kenny Roby’s influential surroundings are a big additive.(by Bryant Liggett)
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