Sad Girl Night 10/27/19: ELIAZ, Abbey Moss, Frances & The Foundation, and Raviner
“Welcome to Sad Girl Night! This night is all about celebrating what you feel.”
Elisabeth Beckwitt begins each Sad Girl Night with a unique and empowering statement like this one. This month it carried us all safely into a headspace where we could be without fear of judgement or ridicule as we enjoyed music from our featured artists: ELIAZ, Abbey Moss, Frances & The Foundation and Raviner.
You may be familiar with how our night’s work by now but just in case you aren’t; we try to give each night a mini theme of it’s own, this month was no different. Being our October show, we wanted to emphasize spookiness and brought on the feels with a night of Nashville’s best female-fronted rock bands and artists. Take a look at how the night played out:
First up was ELIAZ- coming at us with beautifully orchestrated and moody dark-pop (with a healthy sprinkle of rock’n’roll). She began her set with a drum track that was somehow surly and upbeat all at once. As that first song kicked into motion, she moved the mic stand out of the way, leaving plenty of space to move about the stage totally uninhibited. As she performed, we could all see how connected she felt with the audience. Her voice rang out, strong and smoky, with exceptional control over each note and the facial expressions of someone truly in love with what they do. ELIAZ hit us with original songs about her commitment issues and friends moving away, along with a beautiful cover of “We Don’t Talk Anymore.” Speaking of talking, if you get the chance to see her live, she wants to assure you that she IS from South Africa.
photo credit: Abe Munguia Photography
“No, you’re not too drunk or having a stroke, I do have an accent.” Be sure to check out her newest single, Misery, which she dropped today in honor of Halloween!
Our next performer, Abbey Moss, is a long time Sad Girl Music alum and friend. Introduced by Elisabeth as “horror rock embodied in Frank-N-Furter’s sexy body,” she took to the stage dressed as Tim Curry’s iconic character from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
photo credit: Harazim Photography
As always, she gave us an all-in performance that radiated the style she’s known for: dark, whimsical, theatrical rock music. Abbey first played Sad Girl Night back in January of this year when we were still in the smallest room of H.O.M.E. She was amazing then, but as long-time Abbey Moss fans, we have to say that she has grown so much in a short time as both a performer and a vocalist. Beginning her set with spooooky sounds and a musical ruckus, she dove into an opening that would fit perfectly with some burlesque dancers (and recently did!). The confidence she wore on stage radiated from every limb as the night went on. With each note she sang, her arms stretched out as if she were offering each word to an audience member; even falling to her knees at times so she could bring us back up with her. She allowed herself to be vulnerable and shared songs about “saying goodbye and putting a romance to rest when you know it’s time,” and hit us with a cover of “We Will Rock You” by QUEEN!
Don’t worry if you missed it, she’ll be embodying another icon tonight as she takes the stage at Scream FEST as Freddie Mercury for an entire set dedicated to QUEEN. It really doesn’t matter what your plans were before this, we all know that’s where you’re going to be spending your Halloween.
Frances & The Foundation has been a name that we at Sad Girl Music have heard throughout town for about five years now.
It was an honor to get to feature them at this Sad Girl Night! Coming at us hard and fast from the get-go, this is a rock band that thrives on energy from heavy drum fills, hard-hitting bass lines, passionate vocals and impossible guitar licks. Looking around throughout the night, we loved seeing the audience in motion. If someone wasn’t tapping their feet, they were moving their head (but in most cases they were doing both!). Frances shared not only her vocal prowess and bass playing with us, but also told several stories about why the songs were written. Introducing one of the bands slower songs (well...as slow as a Frances & The Foundation song can get haha), she told us that “this next one is about being in the music industry for 20 years, living in Nashville, and being a left-coast liberal.” Somehow I feel that this is relatable to more people than we know!
photo credit: Abe Munguia Photography
They ended the night with their currently untitled song about female empowerment. Find them online, go see them live and message them song titles to encourage them to release it...I really need this song in my life!
The perfect ending to this hard hitting night of rock was alt hardrock/metal band, Raviner.
photo credit: Harazim Photography
After a break from releasing music, we were so happy to see them back at it and taking the world on one show at a time! Their set began with a groovy bass line and a beat that took flight when lead singer Kamber latched on with powerful, and at times guttural, vocals. Of note during this performance was how locked in this band was. Even though they were playing a lot of newer tunes, it felt like they’d been playing them for years. They were clearly loving every second on stage and any chance to connect with new fans. Kamber gave a dynamic performance as she expertly switched between running tracks, singing lead vocals and speaking with the crowd.
“Our band has been through a lot over the past few years. We took a break and have been back at it for less than a year now. We’re trying to figure out what it all looks like from here on out and are so happy to be here tonight.”
We loved every second of their performance and can’t wait to see what the future brings for Raviner! Follow them on social media for updates and get involved as they hit the studio to record their next project!
This Sad Girl Night brought out a new crowd as we connected with the Rock scene here in Nashville like never before. We loved it and hope to continue bringing others together at our H.O.M.E. away from home! Our next Sad Girl Night will be on November 17th and feature Jilian Linklater, Kate Kelly, Steffi Jeraldo and Sophia Boro!
If you can’t wait that long for your Sad Girl Music fix, join us at our brand new Writer’s Round on November 13th. Taking place in Printer’s Alley at the esteemed Alley Taps we will be sharing songs with Sad Girl Night alumn Eva Cassel and welcoming Brennan Wedl , Ciera Julia and Christine Lodder to the SGM community. Hope to see you at one (or both) of these events!
If you have enjoyed one or more of out free events and would like to donate to Sad Girl Music, it is never expected and always appreciated. We love our Sad Girl Music community and can’t wait to see you again soon! Venmo: @sadgirlmusicofficial
written by: Christine Harazim
