Chastity Brown w/ El quante - $6

Capturing the energy of a live performance in the studio is one of the trickiest tasks in the book, and musicians across the decades have tried - and often failed - to do so. Singer/songwriter Chastity Brown, however, makes it sound easy on her new sophomore disc, "Sankofa." The first time I heard tracks from it was via her MySpace page through tiny laptop speakers, and it sounded like Brown was sitting right next to me with her acoustic guitar and fiery songs. Raised in Knoxville, Tenn., Brown dabbles in soul, blues, gospel and even bluegrass and, quite often, brings to mind a 21st-century version of Nina Simone. She benefits from a steadfast fan base and following in the Twin Cities.