Live Concert Photography: Dala Records Holiday Showcase at Our Wicked Lady 12/6/19 feat. Kyle Lacy Sweet Megg and the Wayfarers and Billy the Kid and Special Guests
Best known as a highly sought-after trumpeter who has had lengthy stints as a member of Charles Bradley‘s backing band The Extraordinares, Sharon Jones‘ backing band The Dap Kings, Lee Fields‘ backing band The Expressions, Antibalas and The Budos Band, as well as collaborations with Mark Ronson and others, the Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter Billy Aukstik started writing his own soul-inspired songs and compositions, which he released through the indie soul label he crated Dala Records. Since Dala Records’ founding, Aukstik has released material from a growing list of local indie soul artists including John Fatum, The Rad Trads, Michael Harlen, Patrick Sargent and Camellia Hartman, Kyle Lacy and others, as well as his own solo work under the moniker Billy the Kid.
Last month Dala Records hosted a holiday showcase at Bushwick’s Our Wicked Lady that featured Kyle Lacy, Sweet Megg and the Wayfarers, Billy the Kid and a collection of special guests that included Camellia Hartman. Check out photos from the show below.
Last year, I wrote a bit about the Charleston, SC-born, New York-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Kyle Lacy. Now, as you may recall, with “Hangin On,” Lacy quickly established a sound that was to my ears reminded me of Squeeze and Daptone Records-like soul. With “Believe In Tomorrow,” off his forthcoming full-length debut Bad Days, Lacy continued to dig deep into the rock and soul of “Hangin’ On” but while also drawing from Mavis Staples/The Staple Singers-like spirituals.
Interestingly, Bad Days finds the rising Charleston-born, New York-based singer/songwriter and guitarist creating music with a greater sense of freedom and confidence. “Now, I don’t have to think in terms of, ‘will people dance to this in a bar’, but I can actually say to myself, ‘would I listen to this song?’” Lacy says in press notes. Along with that came a great deal of artistic and creative growth — in particular, the sessions that produced “Believe In Tomorrow” were the most formative for him. “It felt like we were all stepping out of the shadow of our fears, and collectively trying to tell a story of hope.”
Of course, Lacy’s Our Wicked Lady set featured “Hangin’ On” and “Believe In Tomorrow,” as well as material off Bad Days.
Megg Farrell is a New York-based singer/songwriter and guitarist who writes and performs across a a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles including Americana, country, jazz, folk, blues, rockabilly and several others. Farrell’s latest project, Sweet Megg and The Wayfarers further cements her growing reputation for a genre and time-defying sound and approach: in fact, her Our Wicked Lady set featured chanson songs, covers of the blues, jazz standards, rockabilly-inspired originals and the like, all of which are imbued with a unique mix of melancholy and euphoria. 
Opening the night was Billy Aukstik’s Billy the Kid. His set featured guest appearances by labelmate Camellia Hartman and The Foxy Johnstons.
For these photos and more, check out the Flickr set here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmKupFDp
