Senora May with Kayla Ray

3227 N. Davidson Street,Charlotte NC 28205

14 November, 2021

Description

Senora May with Kayla Ray ALL AGES Senora May Dynamic, engaging, organic, country, folk and Americana Senora May Just like the wild, sweet place where she was raised, Senora May’s music is complex and eclectic. She describes it this way: “My sound is organic. It's country because I have an accent when I talk and sing, it's folk because I'm telling stories about my home and people around town, it's Americana because I'm inspired by so many different genres.” You can hear that diversity on every track of her debut album, Lainhart. It’s certainly there on a song like “Country” with the drums of rock ‘n’ roll, the folk-flavored vocals, and Senora’s flute-playing that brings in another compelling layer. There’s the honky tonk piano on “By My Lonesome” and the ironic joy found in the walking beat of the defiant “Female”. The lyrics of “Gone From the Mountain” read like a Gothic Appalachian novel but the whole song is driven by an electric guitar while stripped down acoustics create the mood on a paean to simple living like “Don’t Need A Lot”. Her seductive vocals prowl through the slow boil of “Milk and Honey” and the completely original “Only Want You” is played over a soundtrack of animal sounds recorded by Senora herself. “I think it's really important as an artist to be open minded and to listen to every type of music,” she says. She counts among her influences artists as varied as Emmylou Harris, Nina Simone, and Feist, as well as Bobby Bare, Jr. and Beyoncé. “I just try to incorporate all the sounds that have inspired me, and of course, that spans beyond genre or message, it’s whatever invokes feeling and passion in the moment or place you’re experiencing.” Although Senora loves to experiment with different sounds and genres, everything always comes back to her native Eastern Kentucky in the end. One of six children, she grew up playing in the woods, going hunting or fishing with her four brothers, identifying wildflowers and their uses, and says she always felt “comforted by the hills, calmed by being outside.” In fact, Senora says she feels sorry for people who are disconnected from nature. “We need it,” she says. Her music has also been influenced by the sounds of the outdoors. “The auditory boundaries are endless. You’ll hear frequencies in the hills right before the sun goes down that you can't make up on your own with a synthesizer,” she says. “Certain birds and little yipping foxes, bobcats, pitches of bugs, there's just so much to be inspired by.” Senora feels a duty as someone from rural Appalachia to honor the culture’s musical tradition while also expanding notions of what it must be. “The thing about being from a place that you're so proud of, you want to make everyone there proud too. Everyone feels connected by the music and what's been given to us by shared hardships and the strength our people have to power through. I feel a certain obligation to remain true to my raising, which inspires my music greatly.” In the short time she’s been in the public eye Senora May has emerged as one of the most exciting new voices out of a region rich with musical heritage. She’s also become a role model for young rural women and possesses a keen understanding of that responsibility. “I want to keep putting out music that makes me feel good and demonstrates that I can voice my feelings, emotions I know other women growing up in similar settings feel. There are so many women that don't have a voice, stifled by misogyny, their husbands, their culture, their own selves, our political climate,” she says. “Besides just making it, I'd like to create positive change through my music for people who need it. I don't think anyone should be held back, treated differently or stifled creatively, based on their gender, or anything else they can't help.” Senora May is an engaging singer-songwriter and compelling onstage performer. She’s an artist whose talent will only grow because she knows so well who she is. Like the best songs, hers become more intricate and remarkable once they’re listened to more often and more closely. She’s like the countryside itself: not easy to define, impossible to tame, and always interesting. Facebook | Spotify | Instagram Kayla Ray Waco, Texas born singer-songwriter Kayla Ray wipes clean the dust of nostalgia and can bring even the hardest heart to a place of reflection and understanding. All this while remaining feverishly reverent to the roots of country music, greeting current day affairs head on, and chasing whiskey shots with the rowdiest banter one can muster. Currently touring both the US as well as Internationally Kayla Ray is a quick rising favorite of the independent scene.Kayla’s latest studio single, “The Jameson Waltz” (2019) more than quadrupled it’s projected numbers in it’s first quarter. Kayla’s most recent full album release, “Yesterday & Me” (2018) received high praise in both the United States as well as the UK earning Ray the number 1 spot on Kelly Gregory of, “Country Music People” Magazine’s, top albums list of 2018. Despite a recent surge, Kayla Ray is far from new to the scene. Interested in the long game, Kayla has been at this pursuit the majority of her young life. Kayla’s pedigree comes as an almost novella type story. That of a budding classic. Despite growing up rather hard, as a child Ray often entered herself into local talent contests and variety shows. Because of these efforts, Ray was lucky enough to find herself playing often around the Legendary Gimble Family in the Waco, Texas area. The talent, kindness, and class of the Gimble Family remain a large influence for Kayla Ray. She, then underage and, in a charge of independence, booked her first headlining gig at Papa Joes of Lorena, Texas. Where as she puts it, “Billy Joe Shaver shot that guy in the face and got away with it.” Kayla built a band and spent a few years touring Texas and taking necessary knocks before making her entry into the national touring scene. She made this entry employed as tour manager for accomplished songwriter Jason Eady. During this time in addition to her tour managing duties, Kayla opened shows, sang duets and, “kept the boys in line”. Kayla eventually grew from this position and left the job in 2014 to tour independently. Although, remaining a close confidant, Jason Eady had a large hand in producing both of Kayla’s full length albums. Over the last decade Kayla has received many awards and accolades. And, in addition to touring with Eady, Ray has shared stages with artists like Cody Jinks, Erin Enderlin, Jo Dee Messina, Jamie Lin Wilson, Whiskey Myers, Mo Pitney, Marcia Ball, Reckless Kelly, Jason Bolen, The Turnpike Troubadors, Shane Smith and the Saints, Ray Wylie Hubbard and countless others. From honky tonk dance tempos, to sit you down and contemplate life ballads, Kayla Ray’s music does not disappoint. Her feverish reverence to country music, an indisputable work ethic, stoic beauty, and massive personality, make Kayla Ray an embodiment of what country music should be. Facebook | Spotify | Instagram Senora May **IMPORTANT UPDATED COVID POLICY AS OF AUGUST 20TH, EVERYONE ENTERING THE EVENING MUSE MUST SHOW THEIR PROOF OF VACCINE CARD (OR PHOTO OF VACCINE PASSPORT), OR HAVE PROOF OF A NEGATIVE COVID TEST AS OF THE LAST 72 HOURS. EVERYONE WILL STILL NEED TO WEAR A MASK, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU HAVE BEEN VACCINATED OR NOT. Everyone must have their State Issued ID scanned at the door. We are a private club selling liquor, which means you must become a member in order to purchase alcoholic beverages. New and renewing members pay $1 for an annual membership. If you do not have a legal ID, and you are over 21, we will not be able to serve you adult beverages. There is also a surcharge at the door of $2 if you are under 21.