Side Streets

'Side Streets' showcases Suzie Brown's engaging vocal performances and her intimate, beautifully constructed songs. The yearning sweetness in her voice recalls the down-home intimacy of Patty Griffin, while the easy familiarity of her songs harkens back to Carole King's folk-pop creations. Brown's songwriting is remarkably mature, embodying the best traditions of Nashville-style songwriting with subtle progressions and memorable turns of phrase. Brown has enjoyed an exceedingly quick rise to popularity, given that she started writing songs less a year before starting work on this debut recording. Within a few months, she was selling out top local venues in Philadelphia and warming up crowds for artists like Livingston Taylor and Lyle Lovett. While media outlets have seized on her unusual bio -- Brown is a practicing cardiologist who has set aside a promising research career to focus on music -- audiences and promoters have focused squarely on her music. The set features key contributions from phenom Ross Bellenoit, who serves as both producer and guitarist, and celebrated singer-songwriter Zach Djanikian, who duets with Brown on the choruses of the opening track. Rounding out an impressive production team, 'Side Streets' was recorded and mixed by accomplished folk musician-engineer Jeff Hiatt at Turtle Studios in Philadelphia.