Song Spotlight: Sara Jean Kelley's Down, Down, Down (a night at Bar Lubitsch)

A last minute slot opened up at the WFNM's Almost Acoustic Showcase and Nashville based-Sara Jean Kelley jumped in to play the opening set. Bar Lubitsch was filled with friends and family, many hanging out with her dad in the corner of the venue. I overheard that she wasn't sure if he would be able to show up or not, but show up he did.   

Sara Jean Kelley at Bar Lubitsch

She comes from a musical family. Her mother is Irene Kelley who is a bluegrass singer. Her bio says that her songs have been recorded by Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, and Trisha Yearwood to just name a few. Her sister is Justyna Kelley. Her bio mentions that not only is she a singer, but is also fluent in both French and Italian. 

With her dad in the audience, she sang his favorite song, the country leaning "I Grew Up Here." It is a song about the intersection of Trinity Lane and Dickerson Road, which is a seedy area of Nashville. "It's a pretty rough area known for drug dealers and gangbangers and sex workers." She mentioned that whenever she drove by that area, she would always notice a woman sitting on a bench. "All these people were once little babies, little children full of infinite potential and now they're all but forgotten about." I live in Glendale and I don't think the city has any areas similar to Trinity Lane and Dickerson Road, but there are two homeless people that hang out near my part of the city and I often have the same thoughts.

Sara Jean Kelley at Bar Lubitsch

It was an acoustic guitar set with some nice performance touches. At times, she'd play her guitar at 15 degree angles while singing with self-described "husky, dark and sultry" vocals. 

Amusing moment of the set: I know that country music has found a foothold in Los Angeles. You can glance through my various blog posts and see various write-ups about country artists. Yet, when she asked if there were any cowboys in the audience, there was an awkward silence until the sound guy gave her some love. Then she gave the crowd a Nashville music perspective, "You don't have to be from Texas to be a cowboy. If Beyoncé can be a cowboy, you can be a cowboy."    

Sara Jean Kelley at Bar Lubitsch

She mentioned that she got a song placed on the Amazon Prime TV show Cross. So the song spotlight goes to the Southern rocker "Down, Down, Down." Those husky vocals are clear from the start. Is it a personal story or a song inspired by a true event?

Driving 90 to get himself outta town.

Partial setlist: I Grew Up Here. Cowboy. Down, Down, Down.