"Even if you missed the marathon you can find your new favorite band from the CMJ line up....Alyson Greenfield is far from a new name, having founded the Tinderbox Music Festival and cranked out four albums. Her latest tracks are covers, some hip-hop songs like “Milkshake” and “Mama said Knock You Out” treated to expansive piano chords and Alyson Greenfield’s vocal style, a cross between Regina Spektor and Jewel. You should check her out if you always knew what “Gangsta’s Paradise” was really missing was the xylophone."
"Her music is both timeless and cutting edge, while at the same time being difficult to pigeon hole or fit into a cookie-cutter molding supplied by the last 25+ years of the music industry’s stonewalling."
"A unique take on music, which mixes electronics, pop, folk and even rap (there are a lot of things Alyson can do with her voice). It seems that she fuses music styles as easily as she makes jokes between the songs during her countless gigs all over New York."
"Greenfield owned the crowd during her own set....made a progressive Tori Amos–backed–by–Doug E. Fresh sound. And when Greenfield performs solo, the stage becomes her playroom. "
"The show started off with a quirky Alyson Greenfield, her glockenspiel, and some adorable raps about the Canadian border patrol....Unlike most other self-aware scenes, there seemed to be an active welcoming of anyone....The players realized that behind the fashion and the obscure shout-outs is that small-but-important matter of the actual music."
"A very talented multi-instrumentalist who rocks the glockenspiel, percussion, guitar and haunting vocals that leaves a lasting impression. Kind of like a TuNe-yArDs meets Enya meets Beach House in a supremely listenable package. This is some breakthrough sunrise overcoming adversity shit. Check it out."
"While some cover artists re-interpret known songs, Alyson Greenfield is one who goes for full on re-inventions. Her new EP of glockenspiel and piano-centric hip hop covers, entitled Rock Out with Your Glockenspiel Out, offers exercises in juxtaposition that work on many levels. Not only is she using an instrument straight out of third grade music class to play songs with adult lyrical themes, but her shimmering, simple sound and inflected vocals oppose almost every convention of hip-hop."
"This album [Rock Out With Your Glockenspiel Out] is one you need to own. Alyson Greenfield has compiled a great collection of covers and then done them masterfully in her own style combining emotion and fun."
"There’s no doubt Greenfield is unique and bringing something different to the music scene that will make her stand out from everything you may be used to hearing."
"The first thing one notices about Greenfield’s performance is that the stage is covered in instruments and gadgets, but only one person to play them....though she’d just followed several really intense high energy acts, she maintained the crowd’s attention, as she did everything from electronic tracks, some acoustic, covering 90s hip-hop classic 'Gangsta’s Paradise' on a Glockenspiel to rapping over nothing but beat-boxing. The most remarkable part of this for anyone who has never seen her is how well she can do all of this. When Greenfield informed the soundman she needed to rap for the crowd before her set was done and asking for 1 more minute—the crowd stopped what ever they were doing and stared as she broke into 'Border Patrol,' and promptly walked off having blown the minds of many of those who hadn’t come to see her."
"Triple-threat is an inadequate term for local powerhouse Alyson Greenfield....she's the star of this evening's Music Tech Meetup....Get your geek on, and stick around for Greenfield's smart, sparkling songs."
"Easily one of the most unique, diverse solo musicians I have ever seen live... Her stage presence is amazing. But there's something else, something that had me standing there with an ear to ear smile for the entire set. To the point where I had to look around to see if it was only me. It wasn't. She's funny, spontaneous, and just brings a sort of "I don't give a F" attitude to the stage. To the point that even equipment failure that stops a song, is turned into a laugh out loud moment for the whole room. I've seen other musicians let such a thing ruin their night. I guess, what I'm trying to say is, if you get a chance, see her live."
"A cross between Tracy Chapman and Chelsea Handler – she is irreverent and whimsical with a resplendent voice and mad, mad songwriting skills. Is she a folk artist? A rapper? A cabaret muse? She’s all that and more. Difficult to pin down, mesmerizing to watch."
"Her latest offering, a solid but too-short EP, Only Silence, finally showcases this musical evolution....Much in the same way that Sufjan Stevens, in The Age of Adz, finally found a balance between his past acoustic styles and electronic experimentations, Greenfield seems to be slowly but surely establishing an appealing identity with this new, more modern set of tones."
"It’s impossible to categorize her.... Her most recent album shuffles between your pleasant female singer-songwriter sound, almost harder folk edges, and even occasional electro sounds. And then she also raps..."
"Her tracks are mesmerizing.... she's also launched her Dear Lilith Fair blog, complete with title song to highlight all of the reasons why she should be selected for this year's line up. Even without the blog, they're pretty damn clear."
"Alyson's reinvention of the massive hit song, 'Gangsta's Paradise' may not have had a full band, amplification, or Stevie Wonder, but her ambitious and mesmerizing voice coupled with no more than a glockenspiel and two mallets, set the streets of Austin on fire late in the afternoon on March 17th, 2010."
"While surfing the streets of SXSW this last week Hunnypot's Hot Tub Johnny stumbled upon Women's Radio artist pick ALYSON GREENFIELD. The Drip Cam caught Alyson to a sporadic live freestyle of her song 'Border Patrol' with beatboxing by the guys from OxyMorrons. After wowing the crowd with her flow, Alyson gave a wicked rendition of Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise.'"
"She mixes poppy electro-beats and melodies with her unique voice and psychedelic lyrics. Alyson has the rare ability to change styles from song to song while maintaining a high quality sound."
"Live Alyson shows a different side. Here her personality shines brightly from the stage and energy radiates from her. When I recently saw her at Shea Stadium in Brooklyn....she covered Coolio’s 'Gangsta’s Paradise' on a xylophone and somehow even though it was hilarious watching a tiny, adorable, very white girl singing this song, on a xylophone of all things, she somehow managed to make the lyrics feel almost as if they were her own."