Brooklyn-based Americana country writer/musician/vocalist Michaela Anne is on a roller coaster ride (also known as a 10 day minivan tour). Friday night she played a house show on RVA’s Northside before heading to a Middleburg winery gig Saturday morning. Ultimately she and the band will play Memphis, Nashville and as far south as Birmingham, Alabama before heading home with a few more stops along the way.

 

Her songs of  have a Cowboy Junkie vibe and her singing reminds me alternately of Rosanne Cash and Patty Griffin (if she did country). As a 27 year-old indie artist who’s been touring about three years, she manages her own destiny – booking her own tours, managing her own public relations and dealing with the finances. It’s both rewarding and a challenge.

 

House shows, like this one hosted by The Green Boys (see Sifter’s review), are important to that success in that they give artists like Michaela Anne a bit of on-the-road funding and a direct connection with their potential fans, “Even if there’re just three people in the audience, that one person who was really into it. That’s what I do it for.” Because the setting is pretty informal and quarters are close, audience conversation often mixes in with the performance. Get a taste from this clip, “When you Wanted Me” recorded live at the show.

 

 

Michaela Anne takes heart in knowing she’s one of thousands of indies, all starting from scratch and continually having to talk themselves up. She’s seen enough bands and friends rise up from nothing and, as she says, have an explosion, to keep her following her true love – music. That, and remembering the excitement, as a five-year-old at the piano, of playing a minor third chord for the first time and how good that made her feel. She considers herself successful because she’s doing what she loves – and making it.

 

The tour band includes Aaron Shafer-Haus (drums), Caitlin Gray (bass) and Philip Sterk (pedal steel), all featured on the latest CD, “Ease My Mind”. They’ll be back through Virginia this July when they play Floyd Fest.

 

Heads up for this week: the new midsize venue Broadberry opens Thursday with No BS! Brass Band and the Black Girls on the bill.