Last night we attended the solo show for Suzanne Santo of honeyhoney, who performed to a packed house at the Top Hat Lounge in Missoula, Montana. Mapache opened the night for her. They are a duo of acoustic musicians on guitar and dobro who possess some of the best harmonies we have ever heard. They just released their debut album in October, and we will be reviewing it next week. These guys were so good that Santo brought them up during her set to do a trio with them that was breathtaking as they did a cover of “Helplessly Hoping” by Crosby, Stills & Nash. We highly recommend you check them out.
Santo took the stage about 10:35 p.m., along with Blaine on rhythm guitar and foot bass and Paul on drums. Santo used three different guitars and her fiddle during her nearly 90 min set, which included a two-song encore.
Santo previously released her debut solo album Ruby Red back in August, and we reviewed it here on our blog on August 23. She released a music video for the lead single, “Ghost in my Bed,” which garnered a nomination for the LA Music Critic Awards for Best Video Official (Female), while Santo was nominated for Best Roots/Americana Artist (Female).
Santo and her band played nearly all of the songs on her album, as well as an amazing cover of Johnny Cash’s “Give my Love to Rose,” and a medley of honeyhoney songs, including “I Don’t Want to Fight,” “All on You,” and “Burned me Out,” which she performed solo.
She apologized for her late start, and explained that they had played the Tractor Tavern in Seattle on Thursday night and had a hard commute over, arriving after their scheduled sound check.
Among the highlights were performances of “Ghost in my Bed” (featuring some outstanding fiddle), “Blood on Your Knees,” “Bullets,” and “Yours or Mine.” Blaine was also amazing on guitar and playing bass with his footboard.
Santo talked about her performances last year with honeyhoney, including stops at the Top Hat Lounge and a performance at the Bob Marshall Festival in Seeley Lake. In fact, there was a large group from Seeley Lake at the show that had gotten hooked on her sound when she performed there.
Santo also informed the crowd that Ben Jaffe, her partner in honeyhoney, would be releasing his solo project soon, and encouraged everyone to check it out.
It was an amazing evening of music. We strongly encourage you to check out both Santo and Mapache the next time they stop in Missoula.