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Artists Worth Checking Out Reviews Women in Entertainment

Melissa Forrette at Darby Logger Days – live performance review

On Friday, July 28, we had the opportunity to attend the Darby Logger Days event, which was scheduled for Friday and Saturday.  The event celebrates the rich logging history of the Bitteroot Valley of Montana, and is also a fundraiser for several local non-profits.  Music was scheduled both days, with country legends Sawyer Brown as the headliner on Friday night.  Two indie bands opened up the show:  Melissa Forrette of Missoula and Mabel’s Rage from Helena.

photo by Chelle S Imaging

Forrette proved herself to be a humble and gracious performer from the very start.  Her sound check was delayed almost 45 minutes, and then her start time of 6 p.m was further delayed another 30 minutes, more than likely due to the fact that Sawyer Brown’s tour bus broke down and they were more than three hours late to arrive.

Photo by Chelle S Imaging

Forrette played a mixture of originals and covers by such legends as Don Williams, Merle Haggard, George Jones, John Pardi and Emmylou Harris and newcomers like Ashley McBryde, and kept the audience engaged and entertained.  While Forrette has learned to play a lot of covers for her usual honky tonking gigs, it is her original songs that strike the chord.  She performed several of her best ones, including “Second Best Again,” “Bad Habits,” “Behind These Walls,” “I Don’t Want to be Found,” and the song that won her the award for Best Song at the American Country Star competition, “I Made Him Your Man.

photo by Chelle S Imaging

Forrette was personable on stage with her witty banter, but it was her closing cover of Ashley McBryde’s “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” that really brought the house down.  It was emotional and power-packed, and summed up the struggles of an indie artist trying to make it in today’s music industry.

photo by Chelle S Imaging

After her performance, Forrette spent time talking to her friends and fans, signing autographs and just listening to them.  This is one area where she truly shines, and watching her with her fans is a great joy.

photo by Chelle S Imaging

Forrette will be performing at the Chicks and Chaps Rodeo workshop at the Western Montana Fair in Missoula on August 11 before heading up to Big Fork to perform at The Raven, Woods Bay on August 20.

photo by Chelle S Imaging
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Artists Worth Checking Out LA Music Critic Awards Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2017: Vol. 26

Welcome to another week of summer.  This was one of the weekends we wished we were still in Los Angeles, because we definitely would  have been at Dodger Stadium for the amazing Classic West festival which all our friends are talking about.  To those of you who attended, hope you had a great time with The Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Steeley Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Earth Wind and Fire.  We’re so jealous!!!

INDIE NEWS

Heather Jacks, author of The Noise Beneath the City, creator of the Drinking from the Jug blog, as well as a huge supporter of indie music has announced that she is joining an artists’ collective and opening her first brick and mortar store, Rock A Record, at the Sea Hive, an artisan marketplace located at 1555 S. Coast Highway in Oceanside.  The new location will open next month, so please go out and support this true patron of the arts.

Montanan Melissa Forrette continues her busy July with an opening slot for the legendary country band Sawyer Brown at Darby Logger Days on July 21.  Tickets are still available at the event’s website.

Several of the nominees for the LA Music Critic Awards are visiting Montana or the surrounding area in the near future, and we plan to get out and support them.  This Wednesday (July 19) we will be heading to Stevensville, Montana to see The American West at the Blacksmith Brewery.  We will also be attending the performance of Jerad Finck at Bellwether Brewery Co. in Spokane, Washington on July 22.  Then on August 3, we will be seeing Gina Sicilia at The Gold Room in Colorado Springs, Colorado before heading to Billings, Montana to catch Australian Anni Piper at Magic City Blues on August 4.  We also hope to catch Redhead Express when they play at Music Ranch Montana in Livingston, Montana on August 17.

Other artists on tour in our area include Nina Storey at the Marmelade Concert Series in Salt Lake City on July 20 and Trevor Hall headlining at the Top Hat on November 7.

NEW MUSIC

Here’s an amazing track from Space4Lease entitled “Must be Something” that should help kick-start your Monday.  Please let us know what you think.

https://soundcloud.com/space4leasemusic/must-be-something

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

There have been a boatload of new music videos released in the past week or so, and we have selected three to share with you.  Please also check out “You!” by Floco Torres, “Snitches get Stiches” by Wieuca, “Learn to Be” by Bryan Mackey and “Concrete Angels” by Scarlett Taylor, as well as “Coldplay” by David Ryan Harris.  All are available at YouTube.com.

First up today is the latest from one of our favorite singer-songwriters and close friends, Kim Divine.  Her new lyric video is entitled “This Time Around,” and we definitely think you will enjoy it.

Next up is “Underneath,” the latest single from Rosi Golan, one of the many amazing artists represented by publicist Laura Goldfarb of Red Boot PR.  We just reviewed the album, and definitely think this one is a keeper.

Last, but definitely not least, is the latest from California Country artist and multiple LA Music Critic Award nominee  and past winner, Calico the Band, with their latest, “The 405.”  Everyone in the greater LA area will be able to relate to this video.  Have a great week.