Pop often gets maligned as being shallow, both musically and lyrically. And while that’s certainly true of some of it, there’s plenty of dumb music in other genres, too. Pop at its best can be sophisticated and intelligent music, and Manhattan native Cassandra Jenkins is making some of the best pop music today. In her recent performance at the Songbyrd Music House, Cassandra Jenkins enchanted the sold-out audience with her gorgeous songs.
Jenkins has spent her life involved in music and the arts. Her parents were musicians, and, by the time she was 12, she was touring folk festivals with them and her two siblings, playing Western swing, folk, and jazz. After studying visual arts and working as an editorial assistant at the New Yorker, she returned to music, playing with Eleanor Friedberger, Craig Finn, and Purple Mountains (the final project of the late David Berman, of Silver Jews).
While the folk influences still remain in her music — especially in the literate, observant lyrics — there are no traces of twang in either the music or her singing. Instead, she uses lush, atmospheric pop sounds to build a beautiful house for her stories to live in. While there isn’t much here in the way of jazz-influenced sounds, her sonic experiments borrow from the spirit of that genre. It’s not surprising that George Harrison has been mentioned as a point of influence; you can hear the tone of Harrison’s All Things Must Pass in the building blocks of her songs.
At Songbyrd Music House on March 26, Jenkins opened her set with “Devotion,” followed by an ode to “Aurora, Illinois.” After “My Light, My Destroyer,” the title cut of her second album, she said this was first night of her tour and she and her band had driven in earlier in the day from New York City. “Only One,” she explained, was one of the first songs she tracked with her band, and it was influenced by her time working at a flower shop. “I wrote a lot of sad poems at that job,” she said.
Watch the official music video for “Only One” by Cassandra Jenkins on YouTube:
She followed “Only One” with “Delphinium Blue.” Introducing “Petco,” she asked if anyone had worked at a pet store. I raised my hand and called out — I worked at a PetSmart when I was in high school. Next up was “Michelangelo,” then “New Bikini.” Before that one, she said, “I dream about my grandma all the time,” and mentioned she’s an Aries. “Disappearing” is “a song we haven’t played in a while.” She finished her set with “Hard Drive” and “Clams Casino.” For her encore, Jenkins played “Healer” and “Crosshairs.”
Pittsburgh band Merce Lemon opened the show. I wasn’t familiar with their work, but I enjoyed their folk-influenced, rootsy sound. They started with “Crow,” then “Backyard Lover” and “Chili Packets,” followed by a lovely cover of Bonnie Prince Billy’s “I See A Darkness.” They rounded out their set with “Will You Do Me a Kindness, “Foolish and Fast,” “and “Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild.” I was delighted to hear that the T-rex I saw at the Carnegie Museum when I was a child is still on display there.
Merce Lemon was a nice complement to Jenkins, different enough — more rootsty — to add some variety to the evening. And like Jenkins, they have some great songs, and the great songs were what made this evening special.
Here are some photos of Cassandra Jenkins performing at Songbyrd Music House on March 26, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Casey Vock.
Here are some photos of Merce Lemon performing at Songbyrd Music House on March 26, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Casey Vock.
