Lady of the Evening, Morgan Erina Inspires at Winery

Photos and re-cap by Whitney Lerch

After moving to Pittsburgh, from NYC, about 7 years ago, Morgan Erina has touched this city with her incredible song writing and soothing voice. After changes resulted in the end of Broken Fences, her singing-songwriting folk duo, Morgan considered walking away from music altogether. Thankfully for the rest of us, she recognized she had a calling and couldn’t help but continue writing and performing. Friday night, Morgan celebrated at the Pittsburgh Winery, the release of her new EP Lady, that will move you with its deep lyrics and her haunting beautiful vocals.

Upon entering the cellar, you found yourself at Morgan’s merch table, where certainly everyone would have walked away from with Lady in hand. Fittingly, there were complimentary lady locks, for everyone to share as they sipped wine and were serenaded by some of the city’s most talented musicians.

Brooke Annibale opened the evening with a short, 3 song set from her 2015 full length The Simple Fear. Things got started with the beautiful “All over Again,” followed by the seldom played “Answers,” noting she had to play that night because she was “feelin’ it.” You can find this song on the Starbuck’s Acoustic Spotify playlist. She ended her set with “Remind Me,” which can be heard on Sirius XM The Coffee House.

Irish folk singer-songwriter, Mark Dignam, took the stage next and certainly didn’t disappoint. I particularly enjoyed “Tallahassee” and “Good Things They Are Coming,” but with his energetic, engaging performance, including singalongs with the audience, it’s hard to say I had a favorite part of his set. At one point, Nathan Zoob even joined Mark on stage to collaborate on a couple of songs.

Zoob took a quick break, then returned for his own set, before the “Lady” of the evening hit the stage. If you’re familiar with Zoob’s CV, you’ll recognize his set from his own recently released EP Curriculum Vitae. From the more gentle but catchy “S.O.S.” to the upbeat, foot tapping “Summer Theologica” that has a touch of jazz and swing to it. Zoob’s set closed with “Polish Gold,” a song released in March on Curriculum Vitae that he wrote “a very long time ago”.

The cellar couldn’t have been any better warmed up for Mogan Erina, who came out for several solo acoustic songs before inviting the band out to join her in playing through Lady. One of her newly written songs that remains nameless (though she said she’d take suggestions…I’d go with “Hey”) was one of my favorites from the night. Eventually, she was joined on stage by Nathan Zoob (on guitar) and Brooke Annibale (vocals) for the live performance of “Lady.” She was also accompanied by brilliant violinist, Cara Garofalo, with her delicate but powerful addition to the set. The entire EP is truly stunning and it’s beauty is almost enough to make me weep at the thought that she considered not making music at one point. The title track was written and dedicated to her mother, who was in the audience supporting her immensely talented daughter. All in all, this was one of the best live music evening’s I’ve had in a long time. Morgan was enjoying a 2013 Cabernet, which she described as “super smooth and super awesome” and I feel just the same about her voice. If you aren’t familiar with her or any of the other talented musicians that graced the Pittsburgh Winery Friday night, you need to carve some time out of your weekend to check them out…and don’t forget to pick up Lady.​