We’re at it again, New York! Join us at Skinny Dennis in Brooklyn on May 21st for a great night of rock and roll, presented with our friends at the Northeast Country Coalition. We’re excited to bring you Nashville’s Sophie Gault and Brooklyn’s (by way of Texas) Robert Cody Maxwell. No advance tickets necessary – just show up and be ready to rock. 6:30pm downbeat.
Sophie Gault is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitarist whose raw, emotionally charged alt-country sound blends bluesy grit with lyrical vulnerability. Raised in Maryland, she was immersed in music from an early age, learning guitar from her father and drawing inspiration from artists like Bonnie Raitt and Neil Young. After relocating to Nashville in 2014, Gault faced significant mental health challenges, including multiple hospitalizations for bipolar disorder—a journey she confronts head-on in her songwriting. Her 2024 album, Baltic Street Hotel, produced by Grammy-winner Ray Kennedy, is a bold and unflinching exploration of personal turmoil and resilience, featuring standout tracks like “Christmas in the Psych Ward” and “Kick the Devil Away.” Gault’s music has earned comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Patty Griffin, and she continues to captivate audiences with her haunting vocals and fearless storytelling, performing at venues like Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe and touring alongside artists such as Margo Cilker and Gabe Lee.
Spirited and hopeful, Brooklyn based songwriter Robert Cody Maxwell’s songs channel the vigor and vision of early heartland rock. Unadorned lyricism and driving guitar arrangements make for a live show that occasionally borders on theatre, pivoting between intimate, folksy confessionals and ballsy rock and roll with clear nods to 1970’s New Jersey. There’s a tenacity that runs through the songs, and Maxwell’s stark, brassy delivery reflects a resolve that feels hard-won.
In addition to his own songs, Maxwell is collaborator and bandmate to Los Angeles-based Silas Nello and Nashville’s Bobby Kitchens, having contributed instrumental work to both Nello’s “Easy Listening for Uneasy People,” (2018) and Kitchen’s “The Best Things” (2020).
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.