As a musician I get the chance to hear live music every now and then. Since I’m so busy with music therapy, music education, and playing in my band, it’s rare that I hear other talented musicians in San Diego. I went to hear Sister Speak and the Love Birds on Friday evening and was graced with the amazing Indigo Girls. They were playing at Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay. When I walked outside, I heard my favorite song, “Closer to Fine”. I remember growing up listening to Indigo Girls. They really tugged at my heart strings with their percussive instrumentation combined with the low vocal tone and story telling melodies. I only heard one song since I was there to hear my friends play. Hearing them took me back to my college days and driving back and forth. Listening to Indigo Girls helped me move through my college years with inspiration and serenity. Usually when you listen to one band, their songs start to all sound alike, but the Indigo Girls have always kept a great variety in their music. As I’m writing this post, I’m listening to their albums and each song is quite different with varying instrumentation and vocal tone. They create some real energetic songs with strong percussion as well as peaceful songs that start with the Indian flute. Some of my favorite songs are “The Midnight Train to Georgia”, “Galileo”, and “Closer to Fine.” These women are some of the most talented musicians I know and hearing my friends, Sister Speak and the Love Birds sustained my inspiration throughout the night.
The first time I heard Sister Speak, well let’s just say I was highly impressed. I heard them at Bar Eleven here in San Diego and they blew my mind. I absolutely love their sound and harmonies. These women are quite talented! The two front ladies, Sherri Anne and Samantha have amazing voices that harmonize beautifully together. They not only have amazing voices, but are both talented guitar players as well as percussionists on the djembe. Li Sa is the woman in back bringing it all together with her amazing percussion skills. They were playing some of their mellow, calming music like “Where Have You Gone” when I walked in, but later kicked it up with intense percussion on “Lose Control”. This is one of my favorite songs because their harmonies are amazing and they go into some rapping. Their music is full of soul and passion, which is very evident in their playing, facial expressions and presence on stage. The added bonus of the violin melodies was the icing on the cake!
Then there were the Lovebirds! I have been listening to Veronica May for quite some time now. There are no words to explain the amazing musician she is. However, this was the first time I’ve seen the Lovebirds live. With the incredible guitar skills of Veronica May and the sweet voice of Lindsay White, they really spoke to me. They display a sweet, folksy sound that is enhanced with the harmonica played by Jeffrey Joe on their blues songs. The heartfelt emotions that are expressed through their songwriting is similar to the Indigo Girls or Ani DiFranco, but they are very unique in their instrumentation and vocal harmonies. With the all around talent of Veronica May on guitar, vocals, ukulele, and occasionally the drums, she entertains alone, but then you add the sweet, innocent voice of Lindsay White and you have some incredible stories that are told. They are free, open, and expressive in their art and can really make you laugh! Their cover of Crash by Dave Matthews was hilarious so if you haven’t seen the Lovebirds, get out and see them!!!
This was an epic night of music! Not only did I get to hear some of my favorite local musicians, but also the Indigo Girls! I have always found peace and serenity listening to the Indigo Girls and get that in my own backyard with Sister Speak and the Lovebirds. Thank you my friends for sharing your talent and amazingness
with the world! Love you and can’t wait to see you again!
– Cami Smith