Folk songstress Jonatha Brooke returned to Cleveland after a long absence on Sunday night. Forget that she had been to The Highland Theatre in Akron for a show in 2001, it had been some time since she had appeared in Cleveland proper. Cleveland is not really known for its live acoustic music scene, but judging by the excellent turnouts at Beachland Ballroom shows by Jonatha on Sunday night and Howie Day/Matt Nathanson Monday night (see separate review), it may be time for artists of this genre to take notice of this market. We're no Boston, but there is definitely an audience here for the genre.

Jonatha stepped on stage and was immediately welcomed by a very enthusiastic, albeit small crowd. For those not familiar with the Beachland, it is a relatively small venue on the East side of Cleveland, near the historic Slavic Village. The venue is comprised of two rooms, the smaller Tavern, which seats about 200, and the larger Ballroom, which holds about 500. Neither room, even at sell out capacity, would be considered a large crowd. But Jonatha managed to fill most of the seats in the Ballroom, and they were all too happy to see her. At her request, it was a non-smoking show, which made it all the more enjoyable to watch.

The diminutive singer launched her set with the beautiful West Point, a solo acoustic number. "I'm retravelling this lifeline that's so close to home, we are on our way to West Point", she sang. Brooke plays with a great deal of emotion, whether she is standing on the stage solo with just a six string in her hand, or whether she has the backing of a full band. The repeated lines at the end of West Point, "Don't want to die here, and nobody know" trailed off and was followed by thunderous applause from the crowd, and then her fantastic band joined her on stage as they launched Red Dress, from Brooke's latest effort, "Steady Pull". Brooke is electric even when she is standing alone on the stage, but her talented band, specifically guitarist Godfrey Moore, added to the electricity.

Brooke and the band showed they could really rock out, playing most of the songs from "Steady Pull". They kept the crowd interested by nestling the slower, more contemplative ballads nicely in between the uptempo rockers. If you had never heard Jonatha Brooke before, you would have seen all sides of her on this night. Previous albums by Brooke were very folk influenced, but "Steady Pull" adds another dimension to her songwriting, and she showcased all these aspects on this evening. Newer gems like How Deep is Your Love?, Linger, and the title track had the crowd moving in their seats. Just as you started moving, she'd throw in a classic acoustic gem like Because I Told You So, or the lovely but sad Inconsolable, and then she'd move right back to rocking again. She also played to the crowd very well, joking and telling stories between songs, including a funny one about how she was forced to check a fork into baggage claim on a recent flight from New York. She even had her guitar tech bring out the small American Airlines package to prove it.

The rabid crowd couldn't get enough of Jonatha, eventually coaxing her out onto the stage for three encores. The first one got everyone out of their seats dancing to a cover of the classic You Really Got Me, and then back to current single Out of Your Mind.

The second encore had her returning to the stage solo, performing the lovely Annie, another beautiful solo acoustic number about a down-on-her-luck girl. The lyrics are thoughtful and contemplative: "Annie I hope things line up for you, all in a row, shiny and new, you can't keep living in one small room, when you never let anyone in." Both encores encapsulated the entire show: She proved she can rock out with the likes of more well known female rockers like Sheryl Crow, but Jonatha Brooke is, above all, a storyteller, and she deserves to be spoken in the same breath as fellow acoustic/folk heroines Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, and Ani DiFranco. Let's just hope it's not several years before she returns to Cleveland again.