Joanne Shaw Taylor at the Maryland Theatre

I noticed Joanne Shaw Taylor last summer at the Western Maryland Blues Fest in Hagerstown . I was impressed by her performance. I was blown away when I witnessed her return to Hagerstown, Maryland at the Maryland Theatre on Thursday, March 3 , 2011. The theatre looked like the show was nearly sold out, so I was not the only person in the area who had been impressed by Joanne last summer. The intimate setting of the Maryland Theatre did help Ms. Taylor impress as it is always better to see great talents in small venues.

The crowd was ready for a great show to celebrate the blues and raise funds for the Western Maryland Blues Fest. Joanne did not disappoint. She was backed by bassist Paul Lamb and drummer Layla Hall. Ms. Taylor appeared to have one objective for the evening and that was to have fun.

Joanne Shaw Taylor easily proves she is an up and coming blues guitarists who can hold her own with anyone. I am hard pressed to mention an artist who enjoyed playing their instrument as much as Joanne enjoyed playing her telecaster. The set included blues covers, jams, and selections off of Joanne's debut album "White Sugar" and her follow up effort "Diamonds in the Dirt."

She ended her first set with a cover of "Manic Depression" originally done by Jimi Hendrix. Her version was incredible but a lot of credit needs to go out to the rhythm laid down by Paul and Layla, Later on she took on Jeff Beck's "Going Down." Not only does this girl have talent she also has taste. Taylor is not all covers.

She has two albums worth of original material to work with now and she makes the most of them. Songs like "dead and Gone" off her latest album and "Kiss the Ground" show off her song writing skills. In 2010 she was nominated for Best New Artist at the Blues Music Award. Her blistering guitar solos, soul full vocals, and the fun she is having makes her one heck of an artist to see. Her songwriting skills, picking up awesome rhythm players and being produced by great producers will keep her around for a while. The only thing fans were left wanting after two sets and around two hours of music was more. Joanne Shaw Taylor did wait around long enough to sign a few autographs. However, fans in Hagerstown will have to wait until June to catch Joanne again at this year's Blues Fest.

Fans of Joanne Shaw Taylor can check out her website for tour dates near them.

Sources:

Attended the show