NYC-based singer-songwriter Queen Esther is making waves with her 2021 album called Gild The Black Lily. Combining the essence of modern-day Black Americana, flavored with a neo-country roots-music twist, the 13-cut CD features Esther diving deep into a musical pool brimming with rootsy, bluesy country tracks, all featuring her soulful and sublime vocals. A wide range of musicians, topped off by effective studio production by engineer Craig Dreyer, ably assist Esther on her fourth solo album. Growing up in the deep south, Esther gravitated early on to Gospel music, freeform radio and a style of Southern country music called  “countrypolitan”. Exposed to the music of blues legend Hubert Sumlin and moving to Harlem in NYC, Esther’s background consisted of jazz, country roots, pop, blues, Broadway and theater music, all genres that combine to stunning effect here. On Gild The Black Lily, the focus is on her own music yet the album also offers covers of the time-honored “John The Revelator” as well as a faithful, heartfelt cover of the Eagles 1975 classic “Take It To The Limit”, yet it's her originals, like “This Yearning Thing” for example, that are the best part of this set. Blues, Gospel and alt-country music fans will find much to like about Gild The Black Lily. Somewhere between Melissa Etheridge, Sly Stone, Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan, Queen Esther creates magic within a variety of Americana genres, making Gild The Black Lily a most worthy listening experience.