Layla Zoe certainly didn’t make it easy for herself. 2018’s superb double-disc ‘Gemini’ seemed to say everything that could be said and in the best way possible. It was electric, it was Blues, Funk, Gospel and Rock. It was the sum of all the releases before it. The subsequent ‘Retrospective Tour’ and disc suggested a watershed moment had been reached. Did it also leave the self-proclaimed firegirl literally with ‘Nowhere Left To Go’? – is this perhaps the aptest album title ever penned? Well, no, as it thankfully turns out. Whilst NLTG doesn’t re-invent the wheel as far as Layla’s music is concerned it is, thanks to plenty of new faces behind the songs, still a fresh as well as a strong statement from the heart. It also still showcases the lady’s amazing voice with that trademark emotional intensity that is the secret of Layla Zoe’s success.
‘Blue Sisters’ is this year’s title for the RUF Records Blues Caravan Tour that rolled into Bonn on Sunday. Following on from last years ‘Guitars with Guitars’ though perhaps ‘Maidens with Microphones’ would have been more in keeping?. Certainly there was Blues in the music, but none of these girls was playing it Bessie Smith style. Texan girl Tasha Taylor had the roots of her Soul star father Johnnie’s sound to draw on, Finland’s Ina Forsman made more than a passing nod to Reggae in her set and Layla Zoe’s closer was clearly tilted firmly in a Rock direction.
Canada’s Darling of the Blues is fast becoming Europe’s Darling too as Layla Zoe continues to conquer the hearts of Blues fans with her irresistible blend of power vocals and ‘from the soul’ performances. Thursday it was Bonn’s turn to feel the heat of the Firegirl at the Harmonie.
Henrik Freischlader’s star continues to rise, only recently he could be seen trading licks with Mr Joe Bonamassa onstage. Layla Zoe has also increased her fan-base hugely in Europe in the last months since her excellent second CD on CableCar ‘The Lily’ hit the shops both physically and virtually (internet).