Jessica Lea Mayfield at the East Side Club
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Jessica Lea Mayfield is a plaintive, emotionally weary, early-20something who sounds like she could be at least a plaintive, emotionally weary, early-30something. That’s actually a good thing, as emotional weariness worn by someone born in 1989 tends to sound a bit like a 7-year-old wearing mom’s heels looks. The young singer happily avoids this with surprisingly full and confident vocals; the lyrics, if not earth-shattering, don’t dip into messy teenage-poetry territory. Fellow Ohioan Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys got hold of a copy of her debut EP, which she self-recorded at the age of 15, and produced her first album with a sympathetically sparse touch, which helps her moody folk tunes feel more fleshed-out. But her recent second album, Tell Me, suggests that the maturity is coming from Mayfield herself. Or maybe it’s because she’s now old enough to get into bars.
Weather permitting, she’ll be gracing the Tiki Bar Stage—along with An Horse—when she comes to the East Side Club June 30. Either way, it’ll be a cool show at a venue more known for fish fries and bingo.
