Not only is it a lot of fun to say, but “Perrotta/Marotta” makes an awful lot of sense, too. The Perrotta in question, Sarah, is inarguably one of the very first – at one time perhaps the only—mid-Hudson Valley writing and performing artist to embrace the challenge of song-oriented, modern, progressive, ambient and experimental pop/rock, here in the land of barns and roots. It started long ago with her duo Outloud Dreamer, an arresting fusion of jazziness and luminous art song. She has continued to mine that mode and refine that voice, and frankly, our scene has finally caught up to it. The new material she has previewed at recent shows sounds like her best to date.
The Marotta of course is the legendary drummer Jerry, who has played with pretty much everybody, but most pertinent to this discussion is his radical work as the featured percussionist on the first four Peter Gabriel solo albums – albums that defined a new way of arty ensemble playing (the third record in particular) and that established a musical dialect from which Sarah Perrotta has drawn across her entire career. Their names rhyme. They perform together. They are recording Sarah’s new album together at the storied Dreamland Studio, where Marotta has been presiding for a number of years. Joining them at BSP on Friday, December 20 is the lush indie-rock band Sveet, a new project formed by members of local favorites the Pleasers and former members of Perrotta’s band. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 on the day of the show.
Perrotta/Marotta
Friday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m., $12/$10
BSP, 323 Wall St., Kingston
www.bspkingston.com