I Love Lissie (and you should, too).
On loving and following the underrated Iowa-based songwriter whose soulful voice has been soundtracking my life. Notes from the artist's hometown show.
We may not be as hip as Iowa City (a college town an hour away on Interstate 80), but we do have an amazing array of options for live music here in the QC. And though they may be occasional, the hometown shows by Rock Island native Lissie—a now Iowa-based artist with a soulful voice and a talent for writing great songs—are one of the absolute best perks of living in the Quad Cities.
One of those happened this week at a free event at Schwiebert Riverfront Park that kicked off the seventh annual Alternating Currents Festival. I want to tell you why you need to know about this artist if you don’t already—but also why even after you do become a fan yourself, I’ll still be her biggest fan, like I was on this night.
Note: If “TL;DR” for you, scroll down to the bottom for four songs I recommend if you like classic, powerful female voices in the realm of: Stevie Nicks, and Ann and Nancy Wilson; Bonnie Raitt or Cheryl Crow; Pat Benatar or Joan Jett; and Carole King and Carly Simon. Of course, you’re only going to trust my recommendation if you’re already someone who appreciates introspective singer-songwriters, (rather than, say, Limp Bizkit—who were just at the county fair, btw
I’ve been following Lissie’s career for more than a decade now, when local media highlighted her ties to the area upon her first major release, Catching a Tiger. I first decided to check her out in a 2012 charity performance at Schwiebert, when she performed in a benefit concert for Laura’s Legacy in honor of her late aunt.
Since being blown away that first time, I’ve also been lucky enough to see two more local shows, both last year (when she released her most recent album, Carving Canyons). She performed at a free show last summer as part of Moline’s centennial celebration (which is now becoming an annual thing, called Mo! Live), and then at a ticketed show this past December at the Raccoon Motel (where yes, I actually did actually give this artist some money! But which I also left early, because… this.)
For this week’s show, Lissie played with her band on a gorgeous night, with a lovely pink sunset forming on the horizon. As I pulled up and parked, I was among a steady stream of people crossing the street with our bagged camping chairs slung over our shoulders, (seats which have nothing to do with age, but which somehow always make me feel as if I’m arriving wearing fuzzy bedroom slippers or something.)
The fact that so few people have heard of this homegirl-done-great is criminal.
There was absolutely none of the commonplace rudeness that occurs at so many shows, where the crowd talks over the music and treats the venue like a bar, rather than as an event to appreciate an artist’s talent. People were listening, and clapping with appreciation at the end of songs. But many local people, including my Rock-Island-native friend and her boyfriend who I encouraged to join me, have still never heard of her.
I’m not poking fun at anyone or indicating that they’re out of touch. I mean, even as a person who is passionate about rock music in general (and singer/songwriters in particular), I have to admit I have a certain bias against them sometimes. Like I’ll see a poster for an upcoming event featuring a young woman with a guitar and my reaction will be, “hmm yep, never heard of ’er, moving on,” because aren’t there a million of those?
It’s not the fault of the artist or star as much as the way the industry promotes ingenues and then spits ’em out while they’re in the process of prepping to churn out more. (I’ll get in to how that does, and doesn’t, relate to Lissie, in just a moment.) I’ll admit that part of the only reason I started paying attention to her in the first place was that I learned she was from Rock Island, (the city in Illinois that I can almost literally throw a rock at from my front porch, across the Mississippi in Davenport, Iowa.)
I know from my years following her that she does definitely have local fans. But I couldn’t help but think about how Lissie has had chart-topping singles in the UK, while here, people chatted and caught up with each other, with the concert serving more as background music. At one point I even leaned over and said to my friend, “She’s actually really big in Norway!” (And then I felt ashamed cuz I’d essentially just David Hasselhoff’ed one of my favorite artists.)
Another way to put it: Just hours before, on my way home from work, I'd been in my car, playing her song “Flowers” and singing along. And maybe because of my mood in that moment, or because of the specific situation the lyrics seem to be referencing from my own life, I started to choke up. Somehow, “Flowers” simultaneously articulated the pain of that breakup, while also helping me muster the strength I needed to mourn it and move on. Like all great breakup songs do, I guess. The personal is universal, and all that.
So as she’s playing it live onstage that evening and I’m singing along to every word, I also happen to be doing so next to people waiting in line to get their packaged slice of Happy Joe’s. It's a somewhat lonely feeling to stand in a park on a summer night and love an artist’s music — which speaks to you, or has spoken for you, articulating complex emotions, soundtracking intimate parts of your life, or just your daily ups and downs — more intensely than anyone else there.
Tracks You Should Try Out:
“Best Days.” My first two recommendations are fantastically catchy pop-rock tunes that I cannot get enough of, with hopeful lyrics (about the best days of our lives not necessarily being behind us) that speak to midlifers like me, (especially those of the female variety). For your treadmill mix, here is an EDM version of song 1 from deejay Morgan Page.)
“When I’m Alone” - the single that got everything started, when she was initially signed to Fat Possum records. If you’ve heard of her but think “oh yeah, wasn’t she that that chick from Rock Island who had a video?,” let the one thing this post gets across be that she’s a legit musician with an impressive catalog that continues to grow.
“Wrecking Ball” - Lissie is somewhat known for doing great covers, including Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams,” and even a rap by Kid Cudi. But the one I urge you to check out is this cover of Miley’s hit. (When you do, sing it in your car like I do, chest-beating and letting it rip, while hoping there’s no one at the stoplight next to you. I came in like a WREECCCKING BALLLLL!…….)
There are many more worth checking out, but there’s a great start.
If you take a minute to check them out, (or you’re already a fan — and might even contend that you’re even more of a die-hard (locally or otherwise) — please drop me a line. (But in that case, be warned: I’ll fight you.)
If you need to authenticate Lissie’s Midwestern cred, make sure to catch her in the video wearing a Carhartt (and holding a trouble light) as if she just stepped out of my dad’s garage.
You’d like Carol Montag, I’ll bet! She’s one of my very favorite Iowa artists! http://www.carolmontag.com/concerts/
One more thing, thanks for putting the links to her songs in the column!