A ten-minute delay typically drains the energy of an ACL audience with the patience and attention span of a monarch butterfly. Sudan Archives rejuvenates the low spirits inside the Tito's tent with five words, “turn that bass up Dylan!”
Brittney Parks hails from the flyover state of Ohio, and the success of her last album, “Natural Brown Prom Queen” has lifted her to astonishing new heights. The genre-fluid musician has been thrust onto the world's biggest festivals and stages, armed only with her commanding voice and violin.
Her rosin-enriched bow reverberates against the strings of her violin. Her chants echo throughout the white castle and the words resonate with an enthralled audience. She holds her instrument high in the air or looks down the barrel of the bridge for her next victim in the audience.
The violinist/vocalist’s infectious energy pushed Titos to its limit and her crowd work created organized chaos from the front to back.
While orchestrating the party of the weekend, Sudan brought out a secret weapon, her freakalizer.
“I got that energizеr – That freakalizer.
You got that tranquilizer.”
At this point, the crowd has fully bought into the commanding presence of the in-your-face soul artist. Her imaginary tranquilizer darts shot into the crowd are now hopeless. Her freakalizer is like adding water to a gas fire, Titos has erupted.
The second half showcased more of the violinist's natural self-taught talent. Known to draw inspiration from Sudanese fiddlers, the 29-year-old musician surprised the audience with a tune, not from any of her albums.
“Who here’s Irish?” Sudan asks before playing an Irish Jig, the first one she listened to. An elementary school visit from an Irish fiddling group had the young star enamored with the violin.
Sudan twirls around the stage endlessly to the delight of Saturday festivalgoers. Behind her, a rainbow ballerina Sudan spins left – or right.