Alexis Grace Serenades and Shines at Cooper Young Festival

Photo courtesy of Signal Flow PR.

If you braved the sweltering midday gauntlet of corn dogs, crafts, art and eclectic sundries at Cooper Young Festival on Saturday, you were rewarded with the sultry, honeyed, and ethereal vocals of Alexis Grace.

Hundreds lined the intersection of Cooper and Young in front of the main stage adjacent to Young Avenue Deli, fanning themselves with various flyers, booklets, and repurposed mayoral brochures. Some sought refuge under patio umbrellas or on lawn chairs and curbs covered with fractions of shade. Others basked directly in the glimmer of heat given off not only by the sun, but also from the radiance blossoming from large voice of the tiny blonde behind the microphone.

If her warm-up was your first encounter with the Memphis native (doubtful for any locals who became instant fans during her time on American Idol), you may have wondered what musical genre this woman fit into, her black acoustic guitar eclipsing her petite frame all the way from her white tank top to her combat boots. Trying to place Alexis Grace into a musical “box,” especially after her set on Saturday, would be your first mistake.

Playing songs from her 2015 EP release, Kiddo, as well as covers ranging from Vance Joy to Britney Spears, the singer-songwriter Grace made it crystal clear that she can comfortably travel the melodic highway from soul to folk to pop and back again.

Joined by her husband Thomas Bergstig (Swedish Gun Factory, JEERK) on keyboard and accordion, as well as Steven Bowman (Loser’s Way Home) on fiddle, Grace opened the show in the communal and bartering spirit of the festival, plugging her EP and simply asking a “pay what you can” price for the five-track record.

Early on, Grace invited Myla Smith, another local folk and country songwriter on the rise, to the stage to promote the October 9 release of their latest collaboration, “Give.” With Grace strumming low and free on her chords and serenading with soft vocals, Smith joined in with a harmonic twang and mountain sound that matched the high cradle and picking of her guitar. Backed by precise fiddle and accordion play, the two women evoked a deep, earthy sound with the pleading love song that had the fans hooked for the rest of the set.

After showcasing her ethereal vocal melodies in “Will You Miss Me,” Grace set her guitar aside and took fans back to the Prohibition era with her sultry, jazzy rendition of what is maybe the most outright pop song on Kiddo, “I’m So Done.” With the smell of greasy fried chicken wafting over from a nearby food truck, the crowd swaying and fanning in the stifling heat, and the wailing of the fiddle perking up everyone’s ears, I closed my eyes for a second and imagined the sweaty delta jug house this song easily fit into. Setting aside the electronic, Blondie-esque recorded track, she proceeded into a smoky, speakeasy version of the song, as if she were a southern Duffy or Amy Winehouse sent back to the Old Daisy or some 1920s gambling house to tempt the very souls of its patrons through her siren song.

Coupled with her covers of “Chandelier” (Sia) and “Riptide” (Vance Joy), Grace demonstrated the range and crescendo of her voice from scratchy pop-rock notes to soft indie tones, elevated flawlessly with a penetrating ballad-worthy falsetto. Most of her songs, including “Never Had You,” began absent instruments, letting her vocal harmonies draw you in well before the hook and up-tempo arrangements that had your feet tapping or hips swaying. She certainly had a few couples dancing in the middle of Young Avenue toward the end of her last three songs.

Pressed for time, she was only able to engage the audience briefly between songs. While she did offer some humorous and shameless self-observations based on the overwhelming heat, I would have loved to hear more about the narrative behind her music. While I did my homework on this talented artist, as should you, the venue lacked a certain intimacy her music most likely needs right now to foster an attentive crowd. She pushed on, however, and managed to reel in the audience on raw talent alone.

The finale, her unique cover of “Toxic” by Britney Spears, started in the burlesque, sultry manner evoked previously by “I’m So Done,” and then transcended to a Nashville dueling-fiddles hoedown that grabbed the audience by the hand and took them for a spin. The band picked up the pace and exhibited their instrumental talents that rivaled any folk, country, or indie act you’re going to see in the Memphis festival atmosphere any time soon. She exited leaving everyone, myself included, wanting to hear more.

Alexis Grace is equal parts Gwen Stefani mixed with Corinne Bailey Ray, sprinkled with some Nelly Furtado and Carrie Underwood, but she alone adds a secret ingredient that cannot be identified by comparison. With her unique blend of pop, soul, and folk, she had the penetrating musical ability to offer something for everyone at Cooper Young Festival. She’s no longer “that girl from American Idol.” This is the sound of a woman comfortable in her own skin, honoring her Memphis roots, yet transforming and transcending beyond conventional genre boundaries to bring a sound you need to hear.