It appears that Capitol Records have cornered the market in young female singing/songwriting talent. What better way to capitalize on this fact and the demise of Lilith Fair is a national tour called The Girls Room showcasing these emerging artists. People may perceive this as Lilith II in that it is an all-female show and that proceeds go to that city's local charity. However, the participants- Kendall Payne, Amy Correia, Tara MacLean, Shannon McNally-gave really solid performances that went beyond one person's affectionate description of these musicians as "granola girls. As individuals, they make up formidable acts.

In a climate where young teen stars strut their stuff with baseless gloss and substance, these women evoke pioneering heroines of the past: Laura Nyro, Ricki Lee Jones, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, and Suzanne Vega. The incredible thing is that one lose sight of these four women's ages because of their lyrical and musical maturity.

The four women, all Capitol artists, recently played at the Bowery Ballroom, a perfect setting for good music and entertainment. Each performer played an average of five to six songs. A new artist on the scene Karen Novy was impressive in her stark and very introspective performance of two songs from her indie release Living True.

The charming and down to earth Kendall Payne started the evening off proper on the right path as she aggressively strummed her acoustic guitar and sang her heart out. Playing songs off of her debut Jordan's Sister, Payne performed uptempo fare like "Closer to Myself," the pointed "Supermodels," and "Modern Day Moses." She also showed that she can capably handle ballads like the touching Honest and a new song "Scratch", a fitting closer that left one stunned (and which will hopefully be on her next record).

Amy Correia was equally amazing. Drawing from her experiences growing up, including her time spent on New York City's Lower East Side, Correia's slice of life songs resonated with the crowd from beginning to end of her set. Most of these whimsical and poignant songs, performed with a cellist and with unique instrumentation such as the use of mandolin and ukulele, were off her upcoming album Carnival Love: "Daydream Car," "Angels Collide," "The Bike," and "Sun Comes Up." Correia knocked the socks off the crowd with an incredible rendition of "La Vie En Rose," immortalized by Edith Piaf.

Canadian chanteuse Tara MacLean brought a denser, atmospheric sound to the evening thanks to some electric guitar work and echo. Such atmospherics only enhanced her sound. Playing off of her latest Passenger, MacLean offered up impressionistic and introspective compositions, including the flowing and Biblical "Jordan," "Passenger," and "Undivided." Not to be outdone by Correia, MacLean closed her set with a stunning a cappella version of "Silence," from her first full-length album of the same name.

If one did not know that Shannon McNally was born and bred in Long Island, you could have mistaken her from the heartland. Her distinctive style brought a country and funk edge (not far from Macy Gray in the latter description). Accompanied by a full band, McNally's gritty and fragile sounding voice hinted of promising things to come like in a song called "Down and Dirty," off of her upcoming Jukebox Sparrows album.

The near-capacity audience surprisingly had an equal number of both women and men and of different ages. Even the rudeness of some of the yuppie crowd, who talked and made noise while these ladies were singing their hearts out, couldn't dampen the evening's festive and thought provoking moments.

Though their styles were different, all of these women shared a gift for writing and performing intelligent and honest songs that transcended gender, race, or background. As for their voices, well, safe to say, they got them. Right now, Capitol Records has got the musical equivalent of the New York Yankees roster-a powerful team of young musicians and talent.