One fun thing about having back to back DIY festivals in Echo Park Rising and Happy Sundays Fest is that certain bands play both festivals. So in the case of Julez and the Rollerz, I skipped their set at Echo Park Rising to catch Iress, because I knew I'd get to see their set at Happy Sundays Fest. In terms of Belle and Chain, I knew they were playing Echo Park Rising (partially because I put together an Echo Park Rising schedule on my blog and I was one of the festival's official photographers), but just couldn't be at multiple places at the same time. I also saw that they were playing the Port City stage at Happy Sundays. There were two reasons why I put them on my list of bands to catch in this second bite of the apple. First, I liked the band name. Second, Derrick Lee did catch their Echo Park Rising set and gave them the thumbs up.
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| Belle and Chain at Happy Sundays Fest |
What's the first thing I noticed about the band? Their backing band. Bassist Aubrey Harris is known for playing alongside Chappell Roan and is a WFNM staple. Saxophonist Matthew Nelson plays with Harry Katz and the Pistachios. That gave me some positive vibes before they even started their set.
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| Belle and Chain at Happy Sundays Fest |
Lead singer Spencer Grammer and songwriter partner Davis IL spent the set switching back and forth between keys and guitar, playing their Americana tunes. The band describes their music as "glam Americana," but there were also moments where I felt like I was listening to Michelle Pfeiffer singing pop tunes in The Fabulous Baker Boys.
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| Belle and Chain at Happy Sundays Fest |
Grammer kept us entertained with both her vocals and storytelling skills. She mentioned that she ended a 3 year situationship on Valentines Day 2024 due to the fact that the other side of the situationship refused to use the word girlfriend. He texted her months later and still would not use the word. She also mentioned a dangerous moment in her life that actually led to her playing the guitar. In an attempt to break up a fight, she got stabbed in the arm and playing the guitar was a type of physical therapy.
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| Belle and Chain at Happy Sundays Fest |
The song spotlight goes to "Don't You Worry Babe" that takes the band in another genre direction with a blues-rock gritty tune about enjoying the moment:
Don’t you worry babe
Don’t rush through life
Meet my maker at heavens gate
Spit in her mouth and make her wait
The band mentioned that this would be their last set for awhile as they work on their debut album Velvet Gospel.
Setlist: Laila, Don't You Worry Babe, Blue Jeans (Lana Del Rey cover), No Consequence, No Friends, No Such Thing, Jeepstek, Lolly,
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