The homespun café atmosphere of Eureka Joe's in New York City's Gramercy district was the perfect setting for Erica Smith's music. Ms. Smith is looking to make her mark on the folk and Americana scene and her performance on this Friday night was case in point. Ms. Smith's influences was certainly evident in her music-traces of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, no doubt-but she also taps far deeper into the catalog of pure traditional music from Celtic sounds to the American blues.

With her strong, reticent voice and acoustic guitar, Ms. Smith shone through her nearly one-hour set. Her repertoire consisted of both covers and original material. She interpreted Merle Travis' "Dark as a Dungeon," the traditional tunes "Maid of Constant Sorrow," "Pretty Polly," and "House of the Rising Sun" (popularized by the Animals). Her own material reflect her unique experiences and sensibilities such as "Trepanned Blues" and "All the King's Horses, All the Hanged Men" (co-written with Maia Miller and Sean Dolan, respectively).

Though times have certainly changed, hearing this type of music in an intimate setting like Eureka Joe's evoke for one moment the Greenwich Village '60s folk coffeehouse scene. In a fickle music scene, it was a pleasure to hear some good, real, pure music, something that Ms. Smith relished in conveying to an appreciative crowd. Like a young folkie such as Eliza Carthy, Ms. Smith pays deep respect to her influences and tradition. As long as she continues to write more material and hone her playing on stage, it would not be a mistake to say we will be hearing more from her in the future.