Diane Birch at the TLA

Make your own call about Mat Kearney, who headlines at the TLA on Saturday night, but I would strongly suggest checking out Diane Birch, who's the opening act. Amidst the proliferation of retro-pop soul aspirants, Birch, who's American but as a traveling preacher's daughter grew up in Zimbabwe and Australia as well as Michigan and Portland, Oregon, works an early '70s Laura Nyro-Carole King vibe, with a nod to Elton John here and there. And she does it well. The pencil-thin 26 year old singer and piano player has a husky old-soul voice she wields with vulnerability and authority on her impressive debut, Bible Belt, and "Nothing But A Miracle," the album's first single so confidently delivers its swaying message of woe that I was sure it must have been an old R&B cover, maybe from Nyro's 1971 gem Gonna Take A Miracle. That's not the case, however, it turns out Birch wrote all 13 tunes herself, and while they're not all as good as "Miracle," they're more than good enough to mark Bible Belt as one of the standout debuts of the year.

Previously: Regina Spektor at the Electric Factory