A great night of Detroit area music at Arts Beats & Eats kicked off with another scintillating performance from Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas. I'll keep trumpeting this band until I'm blue in the face, they're that good. I'm surprised the nearby senior apartments didn't come tumbling down from the power of Hernandez' voice, truly one of the best female singers working in the area.
The Delta's, as well, are one of the tightest bands you'll hear around, and they have to be since Hernandez' music dips into so many genres. Songs go in and out of different styles within minutes, soulful to poppy to jazzy to bluesy and so forth. It's a wonderful, dizzying mix all capped off by that VOICE. Favorites from their self-released 2010 EP were played including "Moonstruck", "Face Off" and "Gone In Two Seconds" (though surprisingly not "In The City"), but the majority of the set focused on newer material the band has been working on, likely slated for their first full length release. Thankfully another of my favorites, "Neck Tattoo", was also in the set.
Hernandez, as she usually does, won the crowd over quickly. At one point during an insanely funky number, she insisted the entire crowd kneel down as the song broke down to a funky bassline and her voice. "I'm not gonna sing again until everyone kneels, I'm serious. I don't care if you're old" she demanded and she was obeyed. As the song slowly picked back up she gave everyone permission to rise, a funny moment and was cool to see everyone play along.
It's hard for me to be impartial when it comes to Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas. But they give me no reason to be too critical, they always bring it live and are truly deserving of more widespread attention.They get raved over whenever they play around town, here's to hoping that rumored record deal happens sooner rather than later.
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