Cover Me, The Folding Chairs: New York City Serenade

The Folding Chairs came together three years ago as a six-piece acoustic Irish/folk/bluegrass band based in Italy, and with a background like that, it’s no surprise that their repertoire includes Springsteen covers.

But of all the songs I might have expected a band like this to cover, “New York City Serenade” would not be among them.

It’s a great song, of course–one of Bruce’s finest, in my opinion. But it’s long, complex, and orchestral, and therefore a bit of a challenge to cover, let alone reinterpret. Add to that the challenge of stitching together six musicians recording remotely–not an easy task for a song like this.

But The Folding Chairs were up to the challenge, tackling “New York City Serenade” as their entry for this year’s Cover Me contest. Their arrangement starts out faithful to Bruce’s original but soon shifts more definitively into the band’s wheelhouse with a bluegrass-inflected arrangement that works beautifully.

Entries are now closed for this year’s Cover Me contest; now the judges face the daunting task of selecting the finalists. With a line-up of great entries like the ones I’ve featured here these last couple of months, that’s not going to be easy.

Stay tuned–more great covers to come.