After a short detour north, let’s continue our trip to New Orleans. A few days into Jazz Fest, my sister and I rolled into a bar on Frenchman Street to check out Jamie Lynn Vessels, whom a number of people I’d spoken to heartily recommended. As we made our way into the bar, I thought, “Hm — that bass guitar sure sounds like a Sonia Tetlow riff.” My eyes adjusted to the dark and lo, it was she.
What I’m saying is, musicianship aside, Vessels is a great judge of character.
But let’s talk about the important stuff. Vessels is a powerhouse guitarist, and her live performance is 500% rock’n’roll. Cassanova No More, her second recording, shows Vessles equally at ease with straightforward rock’n’roll (the title track) and country swing (“I’m Holding Up”). Vessels has a voice that would sound perfect while singing the dictionary. This is an unfortunately short review for an unfortunately short EP, but it’s worth your dimes and nickels. While the sound quality isn’t great, I thought I’d include a video rather than a song clip so you can see Vessels in her element.