KENNETT SQUARE — The Los Angeles Times just listed their Top Music Picks of the Year (so far) and at the head of the list was Jessica Lea Mayfield’s LP Tell Me. Rolling Stone and Spin Magazines have featured her as an up-and-coming artist to watch, and she recently made her network television debut on the David Letterman show. Touring all across the United States, it is a coup by the Kennett Flash to present Jessica Lea Mayfield live on Thursday, August 25th.
At just 21, Jessica Mayfield is already a seasoned veteran. She began performing with her family’s bluegrass band at the age of 8, touring on a bus out of Ohio. Eventually she learned guitar from her older brother and they teamed up at open mic nights, often doing covers of the Foo Fighters. She claims David Groh is a key influence in her music. Today Jessica writes and sings her own songs, many of which are traditional country ballads touched by a taste of mid-nineties alternative rock and soul. It’s difficult to pigeon-hole Jessica as a specific genre; she has her own very personal styling.
Jessica collaboarated with Dam Auerbach of The Black Keys on her first LP, With Blasphmey So Heartfelt, which was released in September 2008 release. Mayfield does the vocals and plays acoustic guitar, with Auerbach and Mayfield’s brother David doing instrumentals. Says Auerbach of the recording experience, “I think she’s dark and moody in a mysterious way”. Many of the songs related to “firsts” in Jessica’s ownlife. Online magazine Blurt named With Blasphemy the Best Album of 2008 and gave Jessica the title of Best New Artist of 2008. The album’s opening track “Kiss Me Again” was featured on the CW’s hit series Gossip Girl , and “Bible Days” was featured on CBS’s CSI:NY.
Mayfield’s second LP Tell Me was just released this past February. The LA Times refers to the new album as “essential listening. It’s rough and honest, strong but also delicate and vulnerable.” As she zigzags across the country, the buzz is growing about this up-and-coming young artist. Take advantage of hearing her live, in one of the best listening rooms in the area. Tickets for the August 25th show are available at www.kennettflash.org. The Kennett Flash is an intimate, all-age performance venue that is BYOB and offers a light fare menu.
