Songstress Collective dazzle music-lovers at The Cove

What makes the Songstress Collective stand out isn’t just that all three—Lisa Pellegrino, Diana Moriarity, and Nicole DeLoi—are strong individual performers. It’s how deliberately compatible their musicianship is. The members of the audience Saturday Night, March 21, which included both professional musicians and music-lovers were generous with their appreciation.

Each of them brings a distinct tonal character, and instead of competing, those differences interlock. Pellegrino’s guitar and lyrics tend to anchor with a warm, steady vocal presence; Moriarity’s keyboard often brings a slightly brighter, more expressive edge; and DeLoi’s violin and guitar add texture and nuance that fills in the gaps. When they sing together, you’re not just hearing harmony—you’re hearing layered storytelling, where each voice carries a different emotional frequency.

They also lean into a more traditional, almost roots-inspired approach to arrangement. Rather than overproducing or overpowering a song, they give it space. Their instrumentation—whether acoustic guitar, rhythmic keyboard, or subtle melodic violin accents—serves the vocals first. That restraint is part of what makes them compelling live, especially in an intimate venue like The Cove in Greenwood Lake, where the acoustics reward clarity over volume.

Another thing that sets them apart is their phrasing and timing. They don’t just hit harmonies—they breathe together. That kind of synchronicity usually only comes from either years of performing together or a shared musical instinct. It allows them to shift dynamics smoothly, moving from delicate, almost whisper-like passages to fuller, resonant crescendos without losing cohesion.

During her solo set, DeLoi invited blues guitarist, Jeremy Langdale, (one of several prominent musicians in the audience) to join her on stage during a cover of Tracy Chapman’s Give Me One Reason, where Langdale delivered an exquisite accompaniment while Deloi gave the audience another memorable vocal performance.

In short, their uniqueness comes from a combination of contrast and cohesion: three distinct musical identities that blend so seamlessly it feels less like a trio and more like a single, finely tuned instrument. Be sure to watch for them in future performances at The Cove, a Greenwood Lake venue known for featuring some of the best live music performances in the region.