Gig Alert: Marques Toliver

Marques Toliver
“Deep In My Heart”
Playing Wednesday at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St., Greenwich Village)
Get: Tickets ($20) | Directions

Marques Toliver’s story sounds like something out of a music industry fairytale.

After arriving in New York for college to study the violin, and busking on the L Train platform to get by, the Floridian was noticed by TV on the Radio’s bandmember Kyp Malone and invited to play with the band. Later, Mallone moved to London, where his beautifully textured pop sound was flagged by Adele, who proclaimed Toliver “her favorite new artist.” The end.

Except actually, it was just the beginning for Toliver. If his debut EP Butterflies Are Not Free is any sign of what's to come, big things are on the horizon. “Deep in My Heart” comes off of that EP, and it features harmonized R&B-style vocals over a sumptuous and ever-evolving arrangement that includes textures of autoharp, violins, clarinets, flutes, and even some Indian tabla.