Leslie Stevens | Way Over Yonder | Santa Monica Pier | 9/27/14 [Photos]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!

THE ACT: Leslie Stevens | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

SOUNDS LIKE: 

THOUGHTS: Leslie Stevens sings with a sublime, soprano frailty that reminds me of country singers like Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton. I don’t know much about her, but I think she is a Los Angeles native (her latest album was recorded at Five Star Studio in Echo Park). There was a wave of country that came out of California with the likes of Merle Haggard … perhaps she cane the catalyst for another California, Country renaissance.

PHOTOS: Darn that red spotlight!!!

 

VIDEO CLIPS:

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!

Lucinda Williams | Way Over Yonder | Santa Monica Pier | 9/26/14 [Photos]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!

THE ACT: Lucinda Williams | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

SOUNDS LIKE: 

THOUGHTS: Lucinda Williams. What can you say about this woman and her incredible music? Honestly … you can’t say much since it’s already been said. Having won multiple Grammy awards and being recognized as one of America’s best songwriters, it goes without saying that when she sings, you have to listen to every word, or your just missing out.

PHOTOS: Wish I had had more time in the pit for Lucinda’s set. Though the pics below aren’t bad, I feel like I should have been able to do a better job shooting around shadows and the microphone.

VIDEO CLIPS:

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!

Joe Fletcher | Way Over Yonder | Santa Monica Pier | 9/26/14 [Photos]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!

THE ACT: Joe Fletcher | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

SOUNDS LIKE: 

THOUGHTS: Though he usually plays with his backing band The Wrong Reasons, Joe Fletcher performed solo acoustic set at Way Over Yonder’s carousel stage. Gritty and raw, and under the hard red stage lighting, Joe performed American roots music with a passionate intensity that had his audience spellbound.

PHOTOS:

VIDEO CLIPS:

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!

Omar Souleyman | Twilight Concert | Santa Monica Pier | 7/31/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

IMG_7559

I missed Omar Souleyman when he played at FYF Fest in 2013.  When a close friend of mine told me the next day that Omar’s set was incredible … <slaps had to the forehead>

When I heard he was playing the pier, I knew it was a show I couldn’t miss.

I’ve always been fascinated with foreign music. I barely speak French. I hardly understand Korean. I obviously know nothing about the Arabic language. But good music is good music. Omar Souleyman’s traditional, electronic, Syrian folk-pop music is a groove inducing, infectious rhythm than really doesn’t need to be translated.

Wearing large sunglasses, a thick mustache and traditional Syrian garb, it was just him and his DJ sending sonic waves out onto the pier and into the beach. Looking over the crowd, all I could see were hands in the air, and bodies gyrating to the beat.

Though the traditional meanings of his music may have been lost on the crowd, it really didn’t matter. The crowd was lost in the foreign sounds of one of Syria’s most prolific recording artists.

Follow Omar Souleyman on Facebook by CLICKING HERE.

 

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

Shelby Lynne | KCRW’s “Country In The City” | 7/26/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]

CLICK HERE To Check Out The Blog Entries Of The Other Acts Performing At KCRW’s “Country In the City” Concert Series

IMG_7425

Headlining the second concert of the County In The City concert series, inspired by The Annenberg Space for Photography’s newest exhibit, Country: Portraits of an American Sound,” was Grammy Award winning, country recording artist Shelby Lynne.

I found out about her and her music when she gave her now legendary Grammy Award acceptance speech in 1999 for Best New Artist. “13 years, and 6 albums to get here,” she said. It still gets me everytime.

A prolific recording artist, she has recorded 13 studio albums, and a handful of EPs, her latest effort being a 5 track EP released on December 10, 2013 through her own independent record label Everso Records. With so much music under her belt, her set consisted of music covering her entire career.

Opening her set with the heart-wringer “Your Lies”, then performing the first song she ever wrote, “Leaving”, covering a tune by Dusty Springfield, to performing “Life Is Bad” and “Where I’m From” (off her seminal album “I Am Shelby Lynne”), it was a concert filled with her “greatest hits”, and the crowd ate it up.

Perhaps the most poignant moments of her performance was when she sang songs for the heartbroken. The emotion espoused through her impassioned  lyrics, sung with her seemingly delicate contralto voice, left the audience moved. It may have been the lighting, but I could swear I could even see her eyes well up during several of the songs.

As an added treat, Shelby was able to get Jonathan and Zach of Jamestown Revival to come onstage to join her for the last song of her set (a cover of Neil Young’s “Are You Ready for the Country”). Reading lyrics from an iPhone, it was a light and carefree performance that brought the stellar acts of the evening onto the stage to bid the crowd goodnight.

Set List

  1. Your Lies
  2. Leaving
  3. Life is bad
  4. Easier
  5. I Only Want to Be With You
  6. Gotta Get Back
  7. Why Can’t You
  8. Look’n Up
  9. She Knows
  10. Should’ve Been
  11. Dreamsome
  12. Black Light Blue
  13. Wind
  14. Where I’m From
  15. Call me up
  16. This Road
  17. Walking
  18. Are You Ready for the Country — Neil Young cover with Jamestown Revival

It was a joy being in the pit shooting Shelby. I hope you like the the pics that I snapped. I sure like ’em.

 

CLICK HERE To Check Out The Blog Entries Of The Other Acts Performing At KCRW’s “Country In the City” Concert Series

Free Concert Alert | Omar Souleyman & De Lux at the Santa Monica Pier | 7/31/14 [Preview]

CLICK HERE to check out the other acts I plan on checking out this Summer at the Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier!

Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier

On Thursday, July 31st the fourth concert of Santa Monica Pier’s Twilight Concert Series features Omar Souleyman is a musician from the northeastern region of Syria. His music, traditional Middle Eastern songs in Kurdish and Arabic, incorporates various musical styles like dabkefolk and electronica.

I wanted to check out his set at FYF Fest in 2013, but as his set time was delayed, I missed his performance in order to check out some other bands. A close friend of mine who stayed until he took the stage told me the next day that Omar’s set was incredible, and that I was a fool for missing it. Oi … <sound of heart breaking> ….

Needless to say, I am beyond thrilled that I will be in the audience for his performance at the pier. For those of you with an eclectic taste in music, I highly recommend emerging yourself in the seductive and rhythmic sounds of the middle east with Omar this coming Thursday.

Also performing on the pier, opening for Omar Souleyman, is the Los Angeles based “post-disco dance-punk” DIY duo De Lux. Having been compared to bands like The Talking Heads and LCD Soundsystem, I’m looking forward to hearing this band for the first time to see what they have to offer.

Follow De Lux on Facebook by clicking HERE.

To see the full list of acts performing at the Santa Monica Pier as part of the 20th Annual Twilight Concert series, CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE to check out the other acts I plan on checking out this Summer at the Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier!

Jonathan McReynolds | BET Experience: Music Matters | 6/29/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

IMG_7289

On the second day of the BET Experience at L.A. Live, I decided to watch the various acts performing on the main stage of the convention center. Each of the acts performed short sets to give the audience a sampling of what their music was all about.

The second act I was able to catch was Jonathan McReynolds; a contemporary gospel artist who ministers through music. His music is a fusion of R&B, jazz and gospel.

His set seemed shorter than the others, but he was still able to able to touch the audience with his message and, as he joked, made them feel okay about missing church that Sunday.

Check out Jonathan’s Facebook page to keep up with his music. CLICK HERE to get redirected to Facebook.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs Jonathan McReynolds performed at this concert.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

Yuna | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/17/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]


The Content Of This Page Have Been Moved To www.BlurredCulture.Com. CLICK HERE to get redirected.

Yuna | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/17/14 [INSTAGRAM VIDS]

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

IMG_7050

Below are Instagram clips from most, if not all, of the songs from Yuna’s set at the Santa Monica Pier as part of the Twilight Concert Series. Enjoy.

 

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

Free Concert Alert | Yuna & KING at the Santa Monica Pier | 7/17/14 [Preview]

CLICK HERE to check out the other acts I plan on checking out this Summer at the Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier!

Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier

On Thursday, July 17th the second concert of Santa Monica Pier’s Twilight Concert Series features the Malaysian singer/songwriter Yuna. Having released her third studio album in 2013, Nocturnal, Yuna uses her light and airy vocal stylings to deliver soulful, melodic pop music that has been appealing to the masses worldwide.

I remember seeing Yuna perform live, opening up for Allen Stone (if my memory serves me right) at the Fonda, and I recall that her performance was highlighted by her emotionally sensitive acoustic confessionals about love. Her music may have evolved and developed over the past couple years with more sophisticated production (she’s had tracks produced by both Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes), but the core of her music, that passion that she emotes, is still there. I’m looking forward to seeing her perform live, and you should too.

Follow Yuna on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Also performing on the pier, opening for Yuna, is the band KING. A trio of singers consising of twin sisters Paris and Amber Strother and musical compadre Anita Bias, KING released their first EP in 2011 to critical praise and they are currently supporting their follow up EP, The Afternoon EP.

Their future-soul brand of music, is nothing short of smooth, ethereal and beautiful. Opening for Yuna may be a match made in heaven.

Follow KING on Facebook by clicking HERE.

To see the full list of acts performing at the Santa Monica Pier as part of the 20th Annual Twilight Concert series, CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE to check out the other acts I plan on checking out this Summer at the Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier!