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Raw talent from Joshua Tree: a private concert in Mexico

Through a chance meeting at a party, I found myself invited to a private house concert by a young, emerging singer from Joshua Tree California.  She was visiting her godmother in Ajijic, who decided to showcase her to a few of her music-loving friends in town. 

The artist was Angela Rose Fields, a 30-something currently living in her beloved remodeled 1982 Ford Ramblette RV named Fancy, and working for the Joshua Tree Musical Festival. Tall,  tan, lovely, and blessed with a blindingly beautiful smile that reaches all the way up to her eyes, she models, as well paints wonderful signs, and writes songs. 

It was the songs that intrigued me, and the opportunity to see the emergence of a raw talent, still looking for her voice, although it was obvious that she definitely has one. With a curl of pain and joy reminiscent of Buffey St. Marie, she encapsulates vignettes of the fire and ice that have characterized her life from its birth in Oregon, travels through India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and now, California.

The concert I saw was in a very small living room with terrible acoustics and a very friendly dog adding an occasional note to the singing – your typical house concert. Angela sang from an elevated landing just off the front door. She projected an endearing mixture of self-confidence and shyness, giving the back story to her songs and apologizing for the fact that she was just learning the guitar. No matter, it was the inner talent I was looking for, and she has it.

Reaching deep into herself, past the shyness and past the need to concentrate on her guitar playing, Angela was able to both connect with the audience in an open, joyful way, while sharing her pain and confusion with them. Her voice was in need of breath training and professional coaching, and her guitar playing was more of a distraction, but the emotional transmission belt was running at full speed. She can zero in on feelings and string them out in raw, unfettered choruses, or a bridge waiting to pull you along to the next verse.

Most of all, she just plain radiates when she sings. No matter what the song, no matter how uncertain the guitar notes, no matter the size and acoustics of the room, when she smiles and sings, her joy overflows into the room and fills it with sunlight and sparkles. That is unique, and why I paid careful attention.

I have seen many singers with trained voices and practiced stage presences – those are skills that can be learned. But the ability to light up a room, to transmit your life and emotion, to invite an audience into your world, is something you must be born with. Angela Rose Fields obviously was.

The video I shot of her singing at the house concert was obviously not the best and did her no justice. I posted it on my YouTube Channel, but I recommend going to her YouTube channel and seeing the professional video of Ocean Songs done with full orchestration.

You can also check her out on Spotify – she has one song up and more in the works. I will drop in on her pages from time to time just to see where she goes. And maybe the next column about her will feature a better video and many more songs.

Patrick O’Heffernan, PhD., is a music journalist and radio broadcaster based in Los Angeles, California, with a global following. His two weekly radio programs, MusicFridayLive! and MusicaFusionLA are heard nationwide and in the UK. He focuses on two music specialties: emerging bands in all genres, and the growing LA-based ALM genre (American Latino Music) that combines rock and rap, blues and jazz and pop with music from Latin America like cumbia, banda, jarocho and mariachi. He also likes to watch his friend drag race.

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