The Nashville Portraits Party, sponsored by The Georgia Music Hall of Fame, and introduced by Lisa Lane of Georgia Music Magazine wowed the crowd at The Loft on May 15th.
The night kicked off with a scintillating blend of jazzy blues by Toni Price. As she walked her petite, gold sparkled, mini-dressed self through the crowd and onto the stage, the mood was set. And, lest there be any doubt of what to expect, when she sat to perform, the hemline went up, not down. Spotlight on, arm slowly coiling toward the ceiling as sultry renditions of Tumbleweed, Like the Sun, Maybe There’s Something in the Water, I’ve Got a Heart But It Don’t Work Like It Should to the sizzling Crying Wolf—You Know You Ain’t Walking Out That Door. This Nashville Portrait was fine, fine art. Price was accompanied by the highly acclaimed songwriter/guitarist Guill Owens who wrote several of the songs she performed.
Mellow by now, the audience was delighted as the amped up, snazzy fedora-wearing harmonica-playing Jimmy Hall blazed the stage with his impeccable style. “Hard Hearted Woman,” indeed, followed by mesmerizing vocals of “This Must Be What Heaven is Like.” No wonder he was Grammy-nominated for Best Male Vocalist in 2007. Then he astounds with his saxophone classics as an added indulgence for the crowded room. A favorite quote about him from the Suite 101 website is, “Hall transforms himself into one righteous medium who melds blues, rock and R & B into a steaming exorcism that can cleanse any listener’s soul.”
To complete the Nashville Portrait, none other than the venerable T. Graham Brown was in the house. This was almost enough to bring down the house. This Georgia-born legend shared his chart topping #1 country single, “Hell or High Water, along with “Tell It Like It Used to Be.” Known as “His T-Ness” you could feel the crowd’s obvious pleasure and respect toward this award-winning, veteran musician.
Handling the sound complexities for a show of this magnitude and diversity, Sam Kuoenen met all the challenges with his flawless technical skills.
Ending this fabulous performance and bringing the appreciative audience to its feet, all the performers led a rousing version of “I’ll Fly Away.”
