Staff Blog
Danielle Howle, Oct. 21, Neil and Andi’s
posted by emily davis
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| Photo | Emily Davis |
The evening started off with a kinda surreal/fringe fest feel to it. Here’s a group of 20 strangers sitting on folding chairs in the living room of a twin in Media waiting for a show to begin. But as soon as the barefoot Danielle Howle with her raspy southern drawl started to play the crowd sat transfixed.
This show was the latest installment of the Neil and Andi’s Sixth Street Concert series. All of the guests were followers of the series — I’m pretty sure I was the only one who had ever heard of Danielle Howle. Neil had met Danielle at a concert in London in the mid-’90s and followed her career. When the opportunity arose, he invited her to the series that he and his wife host in their home.
Although Howle indulged me with a couple old songs (by request), she played mostly from her recent album, Thank you, Mark produced by Mark Bryan (lead guitarist of Hootie and the Blowfish).
She spent a lot time in between songs interacting with the audience and telling stories: sharing the inspirations for her songs and the process of bringing them to life, as well asking us for our feedback and impressions, it gave the night an artist’s workshop feel. She remarked how meaningful this exchange in an intimate venue was for her because the life of being a working musician on the road can be rather isolated and lonely.
For a fellow South Carolinan who’s followed Danielle’s work over the last decade, it doesn’t get any better than hanging out in a living room and listening to her play for nearly two hours.
Well actually maybe it does. she’s agreed to come back in April to play at my place.
