Jessica Lea Mayfield – Angie Haze Project // Cleveland, OH // 12.20.2019

Jessica Lea Mayfield with Angie Haze Project
The Beachland Ballroom
Cleveland, OH
December 20th, 2019

The Beachland Ballroom was packed with a diverse crowd Friday night to catch the vocal stylings of singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield.

Taking the stage first was the Angie Haze Project. Comprising of 9 members and multiple instruments, this group played a set that pushed genres of music and incorporated some choreography.

Midway through the set, when Angie’s guitar strap broke, different band members took turns telling various “dad jokes” to fill the time. Corny yes, but they definitely provided a smile and chuckle.

The highlight of their set was a song called Smooth. Vocally, it reminded me of Nora Jones with a bit of Liz Phair, with an element incredibly pure and refreshing.

The set ended with a collaboration of The Angie Haze Project and Jessica Lea Mayfield singing John Lennon’s 1971 holiday staple, “Happy Xmas“. Angie Haze sang the first verse while Jessica Lea Mayfield sang the second. This provided the perfect transition into Jessica Lea Mayfield’s portion of the show.

Set as 2019’s Christmas Show, Jessica Lea Mayfield took the stage and played an hour-long set that stretched across her catalog. She began her set by announcing “Ok, I’m going to play a song now.” The entire crowd was fixed on her and her band’s talent. Jessica went from one song to another practically flawlessly as if it was being played off an album.

Halfway into the show, while the Kent Ohio native took a moment to tune, she was asked by a fan in the second row “I just have to ask, is that Fred Durst on your shirt?” Without missing a beat and a huge grin, she verified it was Fred Durst and that he was her musical idol and the reason why she got into music.

At the end of her set, Jessica announced that it would be her last song “unless you want me to do another one, and then we will forget we had this conversation.” No one in the audience was ready for the show to end.

The encore consisted of Jessica performing 3 songs alone with her acoustic guitar including a new song she had written just two days prior to the show. Jessica joked in a half-serious way that she would be happy to accept presents as she introduced “What All Have Ya Bought Me” as the first of three songs she played during her encore. The singer-songwriter concluded the musically mesmerizing evening with a fan request, For Today.

Setlist (partial)

Happy Xmas (Angie Haze Project/Jessica Lea Mayfield collaboration)
Oblivious
Sorry is Gone
Meadow
Wish You Could See Me Now
Our Hearts Were Wrong
Standing in the Sun
I Wanna Love You
Do I Have the Time
Maybe Whatever
Bible Days
I’ll Be the One
WTF
What All Have Ya Bought Me
For Today