“Singers and Musicians are beings who have tasted life’s nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another’s heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be.” (Los Angeles Times critic, David Ackert)
Jesse Thoreson is a musical artist who defies categorization. Containing elements of jazz, rock, bossa nova, and folk, her music never quite settles into one genre, though. And you may also hear influences like Suzanne Vega, Diana Krall, or even Steely Dan, but this singer-songwriter is clearly carving out her own musical style.
I caught the tail end of a Thoreson performance with her band The Crown Fire a couple years ago and put her name in a mental file as a must-see if she ever returned to Bellingham. I finally got the chance when she and Los Angeles-based Ethan Buckner began a short Pacific Northwest tour at Bellingham’s Honey Moon Mead and Cider (my new favorite music venue). After having incessantly listened to Jessie’s newest album, Return to the Ground, for the last few weeks I was curious how she would rearrange the songs for solo acoustic guitar.
Check out Return to the Ground on Tidal here.
Arriving shortly before the early 5:30 start time, I ordered one of Honey Moon’s delectable signature mead cocktails and settled myself at the bar as Jessie and Ethan darted about plugging in cables, setting up mics, and tuning guitars. DIY shows rarely require roadies. But they do give a window into the working musician’s life: supremely talented artists hauling, setting up, and breaking down their equipment and then driving themselves to the next show. Despite the possibility of barely breaking even or losing money on a tour, the love of performing and a belief in one’s art drives the urge to share their music.
Jessie unobtrusively opened the show, the general audience hubbub settling down as her magnetic stage presence and intricate guitar work filled the small listening room. At first, I thought she was simply doing some vocal exercises while adjusting the microphone levels but soon realized that she had quietly and serenely slipped into performance mode. For the next 45 minutes, the audience was transfixed as she serenely but emphatically redefined what the “singer- songwriter” label means. The perfectly paced set included songs from Return to the Ground (“Greed,” “Maggots”), older tunes (“Round River”), and as an added bonus, a new composition she’d “written the week before.”
I was entranced by “Telescope,” Jessie’s “love letter” to the James Webb telescope. On Return to the Ground, the song’s graceful production evokes the wonder and grandeur of space and time. As a solo piece, however, the melody and lyrics as delivered by a solitary figure onstage suggests the sense of smallness that inspired her to write about the cosmos: “I have spent a lot of time looking up at the stars on clear moonless nights in the mountains, snuggled in a sleeping bag, with the cold night air on my cheeks. In these moments, I can’t help but think about how incredibly small I am and how incredibly unmoored our earth feels in the context of unending SPACE.”
Check out the official video for “Telescope.”
As I’ve previously written, venues like Honey Moon Mead and Cider give new artists an opportunity to gain performance experience and listeners. For established artists like Thoreson and her tour companion, Buckner, the chance to try out new material, fine tune their own performances, and gauge audience reaction is equally important. Jessie mentioned that the first gig she booked for herself some ten years ago was at Honey Moon Mead. With three full length albums, numerous EPs and singles, and extensive touring experience, the full circle moment seemed appropriate, if only to show how musicians of her caliber earn, and deserve, widespread recognition.
Following Jessie’s set, Ethan turned in an equally satisfying performance (more about his music and appearance at Honey Moon Mead in an upcoming post). As his set concluded, the audience demanded an encore to which he gamely acquiesced, performing an impromptu “Heart of Gold,” which, of course, we all sang along to. Neil Young’s classic 1972 hit felt right for the occasion, but I was thinking of the lyrics from another of his songs: “Where the people are the real stars, all the rest of their lives.” (“Sail Away,” Neil Young)
Lest we forget, these musical artists that we adore, whether they’re playing stadiums or cozy, intimate mead and cider bars have lives away from the stage. They return from their gigs to real world problems and challenges just like the rest of us. For Jessie, her alter ego is as a wildfire ecologist, while Ethan works with a non-profit, noting as he finished, “We’re fighting the climate crisis and we’re crazy enough to do this, too!” To carry on two careers, each demanding energy, creativity, and dedication, Jessie and Ethan are but two of the real stars.
(This is Part III of the DIY series-Click for Part I, Part II)
(All photographs @Mark Caicedo/PuraVida Photography)