In an effort to promote their wines, Solaris paired itself with Sierra Swan and Moon Mountain chose Mozella to showcase their flavors and their image. Mozella, “a flawless blend of smooth acoustic pop and lush vocals with an impassioned soulful texture” lived up to her billing. Her singing is smooth with enough detail to capture the ear and her music, containing obvious jazz and even some hip-hop influences, is truly smooth and lush. She was also lively in her stage banter and, to my own amusement, laughed off the moment when she overheard my editor/photographer refer to her as “Mozerella.” Her style and personality, along with her music, are enough to persuade me to look forward to her next appearance in Chicago.

Swan, with her “harmonious blends of complex layers that will ignite your senses,” came out seeming somewhat disoriented. It quickly became clear that she was getting blitzed on the stage. Known for her piano playing, it was unclear to me whether or not her pianist skills are above average because she was playing on an electric keyboard, an instrument that is very rarely able to please a discerning listener or performer. Fumbling through a few songs, and even restarting one a few times, Swan eventually seemed to relax into her performance and let her skills show through. Backed by a keyboardist, drummer, guitarist, and a bass player that resembled a child of Mr. T and a member of The Village People, Swan entertained her audience, though in a different way than Mozella. Her stage presence is somewhat gruff, but her honesty and sense of humor made her into a likeable character. After every song, she spoke immediately, giving the audience hardly any time to recognize her talent and revealing what I perceived as insecurity beneath her brusque exterior.

Swan’s musical style might be compared to a lower-voiced version of Tori Amos. Heavy on piano and evocative (though occasionally opaque) lyrics, Swan’s music would work well for a down-tempo, smoke-laden party scene.

When I entered the concert, I knew nothing of either of the performers. However, I left pleased with what I had learned and glad to have experienced the show. As for the wine, I’m not much of a drinker but it must be a good sign that my editor/photographer managed to put away six samples and a full size glass, cheers!

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