Live Music Log, November 2023

11 2 23 JORDY SEARCY/Grace Theisen Band #28  Dimnent Chapel, Hope College, Holland

11 3 23 STATIC OF A STRANGER  Kalamazoo Public Library, Kalamazoo

11 3 23 Kait Rose #26  Clover Room, Kalamazoo

11 4 23 LOAVES AND FISHES BENEFIT, Trinity Lutheran Church, Kalamazoo  SHIRLEY KIMES/FOUR GOT TO SHAVE/Luke Lenhart & the Green Valley Boys #3/HIS BOY ELROY/Carrie McFerrin #56 (with Mike List)

11 9 23 Ben Traverse #12/NICK VEINE/Brian Koenigsknecht #31  Clover Room, Kalamazoo

11 10 23 Grace Theisen #29 (with Adam Main)  Horrocks, Kentwood

11 10 23 Midtown Open Stage featuring Bruce Matthews, Patrick McCarthy, Dan Lynn, Jen Sygit, Jeffrey Mom, Maurice Townsend, Tyler Kuiper and Michael Robertson

11 11 23 The Whiskey Charmers #4/Cole Hansen & the Heartbeats #24  Founders, Grand Rapids

11 12 23 Jen Sygit #7/Blake Elliott #7/RACHEL BROOKE  Salt of the Earth, Fennville

11 18 23 Anna P.S. #33  Fetch Brewing, Whitehall

11 22 23 Anna P.S. #34  Goshen Brewing, Goshen IN

11 24 23 Justin Avdek #6/TOMMY FOSTER  Rake Beer Project, Muskegon

11 25 23 PAYTON & ANNABELLE  Hilton Garden Inn, Kalamazoo

11 25 23 The Rebel Eves #6/RACHAEL CASKEY  Clover Room, Kalamazoo

11 26 23 Cole Hansen #25  Gravel Bottom Brewery, Ada

11 27 23 Cameron Blake #10/Nathan Walton #9  Greyline Brewing, Grand Rapids

11 29 23 ERIK McINTYRE/Libby DeCamp #14  Soggy Bottom Bar, Flint

11 30 23 That Thursday Thing:  Justin Avdek #7/Eric Engblade #14  Rake Beer Project, Muskegon

SOTE Intros 11/12/23: Brooke, Elliott, Sygit

Rachel Brooke (Saginaw, MI) shows no mercy with her down-home twang, powerful stage presence and poetic lyricism. A seasoned songwriter who perfectly embodies the music of the American South but lives in the wilds of Michigan, Brooke is one of the most naturally talented up-and-coming artists in the world of country music and honkytonk, having won Outlaw Female 2023 at the Ameripolitan Music Awards. Once a player of punk, Rachel brings that energy to bear on while playing the hell out of her modern Americana. Our chairs do not have seat belts, so do your best to hang on, because here comes Rachel "Rattlesnake" Brooke.

Blake Elliott (Beulah, MI) effortlessly blends the present with the past to craft her own sweet recipe of jazz, blues, soul, and swing. Combined with her bright red lips and trademark vintage style, Elliott’s unique voice weaves throughout intricate melodies creating a nostalgic, yet modern sound entirely her own. Blake is a master collaborator, having played with the Robinson Affair, Elizabeth Landry, and most recently with Stonefolk, but a solo show weaves a smoky sweet spell all its own.  This is about as far south as this northern thrush ever comes, so please put away the birding binoculars and give Blake Elliott a listen.

Jen Sygit (Lansing, MI) wields a rare and powerful talent that seems equally comfortable performing ethereal folk tunes, crooning sultry swing numbers or soulfully belting gritty alt country ballads. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist who isn’t afraid to test boundaries and cross genres, Sygit’s music is sometimes traditional, sometimes contemporary, yet always imbued with a raw sense of honesty. Jen is also a longtime member of the female harmony trio Stella!, a rip roaring roll through the saltier side of roots music. Jen Sygit has respect for all, but reverence for none, so watch out for the sting in the tail of these stellar tunes. 

We want to thank these artists for sharing their music this evening.  Now if you clap really hard, not only will you save Tinker Bell, but you might persuade these three fine artists to come back up here and collaborate on a number or two. 

Rachael Davis bio attempt

Rachael Davis is felt before she is seen or heard, like a pressure drop or a disturbance in the force. The room suddenly gets...jollier.  Peals of uproarious laughter inevitably follow, from her and from those around her.  Exclamations of "HOLY CRAP!" descend like little hailstorms of love and mirth.  And when she stops telling stories about her beloved family or her crazy life long enough to sing a song, you feel the resonations of her deeply empathetic message deep in your subconscious:  this is music for healing, for realizing darkness exists but never letting it run your business.  For more than 30 years, starting back with her family band in the north woods of Michigan, for formative years in the Boston music scene, and continuing into the present as a beloved Nashville fixture, Rachael has been weaving orbs of commanding melody, ensnaring enraptured audiences around the nation, whether alone, or with any number of collaborators, including vocal nightingale trio the Sweet Water Warblers, and her husband Dominic John Davis, master of the bass (as opposed to bassmaster). Before you get the impression it's all fun and games....listen closer.  There is a serious dedication to craft in her near-operatic vocals, her guitar work, her banjo scholarship, and her commitment to the language and traditions of folk music, while pushing it to new fresh places. 

Rachael Davis recordings are few and far between, having dedicated more time to both the art of performance and the art of raising her frankly delightful children, but a few have escaped: Minor League Deities (2000), Live In Bremen, Germany (2004), Antebellum Queens (2008), Bandbox Jubilee (2014), plus releases with Shout Sister Shout! and The Sweet Water Warblers. And, great news, more recordings are coming very soon!  A new compilation called A Few Good Ones, available exclusively at tour dates for now, contains two unreleased songs from about a decade ago that were recently unearthed, and brand new sessions are under way for a (fingers crossed) 2024 release.  The world needs more Rachael Davis music, and Rachael Davis needs more of the world to put down their sorrows and raise a communal voice in celebration of the hilarious beauty of life.  You know how something embarrassing or awful happens, and we say, oh we'll laugh about it later?  Rachael knows life is short:  laugh now.