JOAN OF AUDIO & MUSIC

the second rehearsal, there was a vibrant democracy forming, a genuine collaborative effort between all the artists. Dana was able to use her wide-ranging musical talent, vision, and leadership to truly bring out the best in the musicians and the vocalists. All the elements of creative collaboration were in play, open-mindedness, respect, skill, confidence, trust, risk-taking and self-discovery, to name a few. I had no doubt that by showtime this band would be incredible. And so, it was! It was a stirring, skillful performance. Every musician and vocalist gave it their all, stage presence, execution, dynamics, authenticity, heart, and soul. Hopefully, some of the videos convey the tenor of the show and the enthusiasm of the audience.

I would love to tell the story of every music artist in the band because they are all very talented and praiseworthy. However, for now, I only have room in this article to merely highlight a few. There is no hierarchy of talent that I am using to feature the few that I do. I strongly encourage everyone to explore the work of each of these exceptional artists. I will do my best to provide links to their work and or contact information.

The music artists that I’ll be highlighting in this article will also have an accompanying video of their performances at the show. Because these are videos taken of a live show by various people and were not part of my planning, due to the timing, the quality will vary a bit. But I think they capture the beauty and talent of the performance.

First, up are the three artists that were “featured or headliners” at the concert. Samuelle, Yasmeena, and Gianni P’laure, all vocalists. Then, Amanda Beltz, vocalist and Trumpeter, El Niche.

Yasmeena, aka “The New Voice” is an emergent local talent with an incredible voice and range. She sings R&B, hip-hop, pop, and frankly can perform beautifully across all genres. Yasmeena describes herself as a multicultural, multi-genre singer, songwriter and performer. Her artistic talents are a fusion of R&B and international influences. Her cover single, “Yes I’m Ready”, written by Barbara Mason and produced by Jim Gardiner and Paula Telander, was “considered for nomination” for the 2019 Grammys. The song was awarded “Record of the Year”. Please check out the short clip of Yasmeena singing

“Grenade”, by Bruno Mars and a clip of her singing, “Stay” by Rhianna with R&B singer Samuelle.

Samuelle known simply as Samuelle is a talented and award winning, R&B singer. He won a Grammy Award for the remake of the Bill Wither’s song, “Lean on Me,” while he was lead singer with his former group Club Nouveau. He’s had a series of hits, and his first single, “So You Like What You See”, made it to number 1 in the Billboard Charts. He performs locally and internationally. If you haven’t already, check out his duet with Yasmeena singing “Stay” by Rhianna. He’s an amazing performer!

Gianni P’luare, known as P’luare is a gifted local vocal artist and is the newest emergent talent in this group. She has worked as a backup singer for several popular groups and singers in the San Francisco Bay Area and is also performing in an upcoming show entitled, “Jook Joint” at Yoshis on July 3rd. Most recently she recorded the demo single for Mickel London’s song “Not Perfect”, which inspired LaToya London, R&B, soul singer and former finalist on the third season of American Idol to record the song. P’luare’s voice is reminiscent of some of the classic female soul singers such as Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, Regina Belle, etc. Please check out P’laure’s amazing performance as she opens the Music Medicine concert with the song, “If I Could,” by Regina Belle.

Amanda Beltz, is a stunning vocal artist from nearby Sacramento, CA. It was no surprise to me that she got a standing ovation at the show for her rendition of the song “Rise Up” by