ORDINARY CONNECTIONS FROM AN EXTRAORDINARY SOURCE
ARIELLE Provides Main Support For Eric Johnson Tour
Don’t you think that connecting with elements of life; people, art, music, our cultural similarities and differences, and life lessons are the building blocks for the basis of our existence? As we travel through life, the connections that I feel are the most important are the ones that allow us to grow by the processes of these connections. I know this all sounds hoaxy and out there and some would argue that connections are the byproducts of living. But I think living a full and happy life results in seeking what connects us to this life and how they move us along our path.
I’ve always said that music, any kind of music that makes me feel anything is what I listen to and like. It doesn’t have to be a specific genre or decade. Sometimes, I don’t know why I feel a certain way or how to react to the feelings I have. Undoubtedly, I have impulsively reacted to situations in my life based on how I’m feeling, instead of sitting still for a minute and then react. Music creates the connection between the situation and the feelings about them, for me.
When I find an artist that helps establish the wires from my thoughts to my experience, I grab hold and use the song or artist as an anchor. Songs that help me get centered, get focused, recall a situation, or release frustration and madness that is inside; these reasons are some of why music is so important to me.
ARIELLE is one of the artists that grabbed me from the start. Browsing over her bio, I was instantly drawn to why the connections affect the music she creates. Written in the introduction, “She lays all it all out there, sharing the core of herself on record and stage. She is a powerhouse with a four-octave range, and a reputation as a dynamic guitarist wielding the Two-Tone custom guitar she built with her friend Patrick. Yet, organic as a person, not consumed with wardrobe or accessories, her long brown hair exhibiting a natural freewheeling spirit.”
Listening to her latest release “Mind Lion”, I envisioned a moving path that circled around the foundation of these connections that create the energy. She has a talent that trickles out from thought, around to her hands that write and play her music, to the voice that carries this music to the recording. She says, “The most essential thing I have learned is that the purity of the music and intention behind it is most important. Creating art, the way it feels right in my heart. To not create for gain, but for giving. Out of necessity of expression. When I was younger and with a record label, I learned the hard way. I bent my rules within myself, my moral compass was compromised and my music was shallow. It made me feel empty, and quite honestly, felt like a waste of time. I want to dig deeper into myself. Live more of life and explore what it means to create an audible environment where that gets shared, the more peace I find within life and in myself, the more my heart gets touched, and the more I grow as a musician and as a soul.”
Tonight, I was privileged enough to see first hand, this circle of energy that made the air move in the House Of Blues Foundation Room. ARIELLE is currently on tour with ERIC JOHNSON and has an incredibly rigorous schedule until March 24th. Performing songs from “Mind Lion” that was released on February 9th.
As the clock rolled to her set time, the house lights dimmed, the crowd clapped and stirred as ARIELLE walked on stage with her guitar; holding it like she was holding the hand of her best loved friend or relative. Even though the stage was backlined for ERIC JOHNSON’s set, it should have made her look small in comparison to the huge stage, but my perception morphed right before my eyes and I saw something larger than life fill the stage as she stepped up to the mic begin to sing and play her guitar.
I watched this young woman perform in awe and with complete respect as the songs mezmorized the house on February 14th, Valentine’s Day no less. Don’t think that I’m kidding when I say that her set was perfection and just as entertaining as seeing a full band backing a great singer, ARIELLE did this with just her, her voice, and her guitars (she plays more than one during her set). Just the ability to step out on stage and tell a story that she handcrafted to represent a portion of her whole self, is IMHO, the bravest of actions.
Wanting people to hear what she has to say, to move people with her music, and for her to exemplify what she is singing about should be rewarded. Oftentimes, we see a transparency in artists that what a fan sees isn’t what the artist is. And while that isn’t a requirement for a good song or recording, it is kind of necessary for a moving performance.
ARIELLE set up a few of the songs briefly before beginning them which gave us just enough information for us to draw up an experience of our own. Interestingly, you could feel this in the audience as those invisible musical wires travelled looking for the person that had the outlet to plug in to.
Her set was just long enough to peak the curiosity of those that weren’t familiar with her and just the right amount of time to warm up the crowd for ERIC JOHNSON to deliver his signature guitar and song writing masterpieces from over the last 20 years. (I must mention here that original members Tommy Taylor and Kyle Brock, joined the tour this time which was a treat for fans!).
This show gave the to the rim filled room at House of Blues Dallas, a look back at the epic pieces of the past with ERIC JOHNSON’s music and a glimpse into the crystal ball of contemporary rock music to see where it is headed with the bright star that is ARIELLE. Her magnanimous abilities on the guitar conjoined with a voice that is distinctively prodigious, it is hard to comprehend where these two talents wrapped up into one young woman will take her.
ERIC JOHNSON and ARIELLE remain on the road until the end of March. Tour dates are listed below and ticket information can be found on either artist’s Facebook page.
Set List for House of Blues, Dallas
February 14, 2018
- Summertime
- Devil’s Disguise
- Voices In My Head
- Magick Again
- A Love That Never Dies
- Take II
Eric Johnson | Arielle Tour Dates:
2/20 Ponte Vedra, FL Ponte Vedra Music Hall
2/21 Clearwater, FL Capitol Theater
2/22 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Amaturo Theater
2/23 Orlando, FL Plaza Live
2/24 Atlanta, GA Centerstage
2/25 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
2/27 Charleston, SC Charleston Music Hall
2/28 Charlotte, NC McGlohon
3/01 Richmond, VA The National
3/02 Silver Spring, MD The Fillmore
3/03 Glenside, PA Keswick
3/04 New York, NY BB Kings
3/06 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
3/07 Cohoes, NY Cohoes Music Hall
3/08 Boston, MA Wilbur Theatre
3/09 Derry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
3/10 Norfolk, CT Infinity
3/11 Lancaster, PA Roots & Blues Fest
3/13 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
3/14 Cincinnati, OH Taft Ballroom
3/15 Chicago, IL House of Blues
3/16 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall
3/17 Bloomington, IL Castle Theater
3/21 Nashville, TN City Winery
3/22 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
3/23 Kansas City, MO Voodoo Lounge / Harrah’s Casino
3/24 Oklahoma City, OK Tower Theatre
