Sad Girl Night One Year Anniversary ft: Catalina, Bee Taylor, Laurel & The Love-In. Elisabeth Beckwitt and MOLLĒ
Friends, fans and artists, we did it! Sad Girl Music turned one year old this past Sunday at H.O.M.E. (Helping Our Music Evolve) and we had a blast celebrating with all of your lovely faces! With an unprecedented turnout, we want to extend the warmest thank you to each and every supporter we have had over this past year. We began this journey with a simple idea; to empower women and create a space where vulnerability is seen as a strength. One year later, we feel that we’ve accomplished that and cannot wait to continue spreading that message. It feels SO GOOD to know that you are listening. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
In honor of the anniversary we were honored to be joined by a few amazing vendors; including free bagels from our sponsor Darla’s Bagels. Darla herself made an appearance once more and the bagels were on point as always; to quote Elisabeth, “they taste like perfect fluffy buttery croissants but in bagel form.” Local non-profit Strings For Hope was also there with gorgeous guitar string jewelry, proceeds from which go to support women in need here in Nashville. The designs were like nothing we’ve seen, with detail and love poured into every piece. Speaking of pouring, Stolen X was there keeping our cups full with their delicious Rock & Rye! Flavorful, smooth, and unlike any other whiskey on the market it was such a treat to have their rep Monica there to show us what they’re all about!
Before we dive into the music, we here at Sad Girl Music want to extend a special shoutout and HUGE thank you to Helping Our Music Evolve, who has been with us every step of the way. H.O.M.E. is an artist hub for creativity, content creation, networking and above all, music. If you are a musician in Nashville, you have to go take a tour. Check out their incredible facilities including a rehearsal space, a stage, a recording studio and both indoor and outdoor work spaces. Our friend Logan has built something truly special that we are honored to be a part of. We love you, H.O.M.E.!
September brought with it five powerhouse performers on our bill who all deserve a larger stage than we can offer right now. Catalina, Bee Taylor, Laurel & The Love-In, our very own hostess Elisabeth Beckwitt, and MOLLĒ gave us all they had and left us speechless.
Catalina was the perfect artist to begin the night. Looking out across a packed room, she began her set with an ambient drone before dropping into “Headspace;” the first song off of her latest EP, Multifacética. Catalina was a part of one of our early Sad Girl Night lineups and we were so thrilled to have her back for this momentous occasion! She and her 6-piece band captivated from the get-go. Taking a good look around the room in the middle of her set we saw something rare; there were no phones out. Instead all eyes were on her; taking in the power of her voice.
Catalina brings her Chilean roots to the stage, transitioning between English and Spanish throughout her set. Regardless of the language she chose to express it, the meaning of every song was perfectly clear to everyone present. We can feel it in the rhythm, the dynamics and the expression she and her band put forth.
If there were a perfect word to describe our next performer it would probably be “Spiritual.” Watching Bee Taylor and her band perform is like getting a masterclass in what it means to worship. From the moment their instruments explode with life it’s clear, there is nothing else in the universe except the music. It sounds like a performance that might alienate an audience, might make them feel like they’re intruding on something intimate and personal. That’s because they are, and that’s the point. Bee Taylor has the amazing ability to develop an intimate relationship with everyone in the room almost instantaneously. Something about her extreme vulnerability wrapped up in the most badass little package makes everyone and everything around her feel connected and loved for who and what they are in that very moment. Her relationship with her band is nothing short of astounding. The way they seamlessly dance around each other in the arrangements, highlighting the incredible musicianship of each piece without ever being in each other's way can make you feel both attacked by passion and completely safe at the same time.
I don’t know that any of us expected what we saw and heard next from Laurel and the Love-In. The set began with a danceable song featuring a rockin’ beat and hard-hitting vocals. Safe to say, the vocal style is a little bit edgy and a little bit aggressive in the best way possible! Unable to ignore, we were completely engaged with each piece of the band as all four of them rocked out in their own style with movement and energy. This is a band that plays with power and direction. They make what they do look easy though we know they’ve spent hours upon hours working out every detail. The messages from Laurel and The Love-In were right on point with the Sad Girl Music mission, including songs about “all of the boxes that men and womanhood put us in” (Save My Life), and even sexual assault (Big Bad Wolf). It was such a pleasure to see this band perform live and we recommend it any day.
Our fearless founder and host Elisabeth Beckwitt took the stage next for what would be her first Sad Girl Night performance in six months! She must have saved all of her energy up for this one, because what she brought us was nothing short of amazing. Beginning her set with “Free Fall,” Elisabeth took us on a musical journey. As a performer, she leaves everything out on the table; really allowing the listeners to connect to her story, feel heard, and feel less alone in their own struggles and triumphs. And along with a great message comes a performance filled with powerful vocals, saxophone solos and an overall tightly knit band to create a musical hurricane surrounding this indie-pop goddess
The last performer of the night, right before we gave away some incredible prizes from our sponsors, was EDM goddess MOLLĒ. What stuck out the most about MOLLĒ was the vulnerability in the way she shared her music; she was very relatable. Her performance was filled with anecdotes from her daily life and we had the opportunity to get to know her as both an artist, a producer, and an advocate for women in music. One of her last songs of the night was titled “Get Back Home” about how being a touring musician takes you away from your loved ones for sometimes weeks at a time. As she explained it, it was a song that flowed from her in a matter of minutes as she sat vulnerable and thinking about her distant boyfriend. I think we all know those moments. It’s moments like that that shape the landscape for Sad Girl music as a whole and bring us all closer together.
At the end of the night, we raffled off several prizes from sponsors including dinner for 6 from Darla’s Bagels, a full day of studio time from H.O.M.E., beautiful bracelets from Strings for Hope, a 30-minute photoshoot from yours truly (Harazim Photography), and t-shirts from Sad Girl Music itself! This was undoubtedly a beautiful night! Between the music, the sponsors, the Stolen X whiskey and the prizes, we’re calling it a success and can’t wait to begin year 2 on October 27th at our favorite stage with some more strong and empowering female artists.
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
