Pg 24 • March 2020 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC.


Upbeat’s Spring Guide#1 CD REVIEWS by Shekeyna


Let’s take a listen to a couple of music projects by two strong, powerful female artists in honor of Women’s History Month in March! by Shekeyna Black ~ shekeyna@gmail.com


Sonoma County, CA. ~ Baker’s Dozen is the re- cent release by Sonoma County’s own, the incom- parable, Sarah Baker. All


13 of the tracks are writ- ten and sung by Baker. The selections highlight Baker on vocals and pi- ano or organ and cap-


Patty’s Day! Happy St.


Happy Hour M-F 4-6:30 pm


and ALL DAY SUNDAY (both pubs)


Arrives April 2nd, 2020


Pg 24 • March 2020 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC. www.russianriverbrewing.com


707-545-2337 Every day has a little bit of beauty and a little bit of chaos. ~ Tanisha


ture her distinctive pas- sionate voice. The first cut, “Good News” fea- ture excellent horn lines by Bodega Soul Sec- tion. The sultry, bluesy “Venus of the Delta” harkens back to Baker’s decades-long immersion in the genre. “Sins of the Fathers”, co-written by Billy Lee Lewis, is a poignant lyrical anti-war lament. Soulful ballad, “Wiser Woman” needs to be in regular rotation on the radio “you won’t just merely survive, you will celebrate your life”


sings Baker and her in- spiring lyrics. Produced by Sarah


700 Mitchell Lane, Windsor, CA Windsor Brewery, Restaurant,


and Gift Shop


Sun-Thurs 11am-10pm Fri-Sat until 11pm


Santa Rosa Brewpub, and Gift Shop


725 4th St., Santa Rosa, CA Open Daily


11am to Midnight


Baker and Allen Sud- duth. Baker’s Dozen is available on CD Baby and other online stores; however, getting the ac- tual, tangible CD with the back-cover Design by Stanley Mouse is rather cool. The liner-notes give credit to several studios for the Recorded at and/or Mixed at loca- tions; including Shugar’s Hill, Prairie Sun Record- ing and Zone Record- ing. Musical luminar- ies; including guitarist, Mark Karan (Bob Weir & RatDog and The Other Ones) and bassist, Mona Gnader (Sammy Hagar’s backing band The Waboritas) play on several tracks. Overall, the musicianship on the entire album is notewor- thy. Check out her web- site at sarahbakerstu- dios.com. A Larger Dance, Kate Magdalena’s delight-


ful 11-track Americana audio recording, show- cases her ethereal voice. The lovely, dra- matic song, “Long Live the Wood” is reminiscent of Loreena McKinnitt’s lyrical style. Magdalena dedicates her original song called, “Streets of Any Town” to the more than half-a-million peo- ple experiencing home- lessness in the United States. Her rendition of Leo-


nard Cohen’s, “Dance Me to the End of Love” is simply sweet as is the accompaniment of the violin. Expertly produced by GRAMMY-nomi- nated, Billy Smiley, A Larger Dance belongs in any serious music collection. Learn more about this Bay Area songstress at katemag- dalena.com. Support women sing-


ers, songwriters, and musicians during Wom- en’s History Month and all year long.


Upbeat’s Spring Guide#2


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