Review and Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Venue: Tempe Center For The Arts (https://www.tempecenterforthearts.com/ )
Date: Thursday December 19th, 2024
Tour: A Vagabond Holiday
Most of you know me as a die-hard metal head and classic rock fan. But I am interested in a lot of different music including blues and jazz. An interesting fact is that Rhythm & Blues and Jazz were the major influences of Rock & Roll music. The Beatles, The Rolling Stone & The Who all started out performing blues songs and the majority of Led Zepplin songs are blues based.
While I was going to college, I worked at Sears for 5 years. From Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, they would play the same Christmas song tape, over and over and over again. It got to the point that I hated Christmas music. Then in the 80s, I actually started listening to Christmas music, but only those songs performed by Mannheim Steamroller. Then after the turn of the century I heard Trans-Siberian Orchestra and really enjoyed Christmas music again.
In 2019 I saw this interesting show being promoted at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) here in Phoenix. It was a jazz show and I had not seen a lot of jazz performers in the Phoenix area before other then the small bars venues. So, I decided I would give it a try. The band was Davina & The Vagabonds. The name of the band alone made me curious. Well, I was blown away by how great they were and I loved how Davina would interact with the audience. It reminded me a lot of the Las Vegas shows I saw in the late 60s and early 70s with my parents.
Skip ahead to December 2023 and I saw Davina was coming back to the MIM. I just had to go and get my fix of great jazz music. Boy, was I surprised when the show was mostly Christmas songs. Davina did put her own personal twist on each song that added a jazz tone to them. At first, I was surprised and then like the rest of the audience, but we all fell in love with the Christmas vibe. I told Davina after the show that it was a great show and I really loved her take on the Christmas songs. You can read my review of that show on this website.
Ok, moving forward to 2024 and again Davina came back to the Valley but this time at the Tempe Center For The Arts. This time I was ready and was looking forward to her versions of some of the Christmas songs. Again, I was surprised by just how fun Christmas songs can be. She and the band really enjoyed performing and interacting with the audience.
The concert was broken into 2 sets of about 45 minutes each. I really loved her version of the Chuck Berry classic, “Run Rudolph Run” and Elvis’s “Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)”. Other members of the band got to sing different songs including the trumpet player that sang “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”. Their version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was outstanding and I posted a small snippet of it on Facebook. Overall, I really enjoyed the show and the rest of the audience seemed to like it also. A large number of fans showed up at the Merchandise table to purchase her CDs and also take a photo with her.
I also love that she would tell little stories about different songs. This reminded me of when MTV (in their music years) had a show called Unplugged where an artist would come on stage and talk to a small audience and tells stories about their different songs or stories about the band. This adds a personal touch and draws the audience into the artists life and their music. Davina does this masterfully and make you feel like you know her and she really likes you and wants to be friends.
I see that Davina & The Vagabonds will be performing in her home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota on both New Year Eve and New Years Night. I highly recommend seeing one of these shows. If I were there (I personally hate snow) I would go to both shows, it is just that much fun. In January they will be performing in Maimi and Sanibel Florida. I also see that on February 8th, they will be back in Arizona, but this time at eh Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts in Wickenburg, AZ. I hope to see you at that show, I am the long hair hippy that is taking photographs.
You can check out Davina and her upcoming shows and also her merchandise on their website. If you are like me, once you see and hear Davina & The Vagabonds, you to will become fans. I hope to see you at the next time she comes to the greater Phoenix area. Until then, you can check her out on her different social media sites and streaming channels. If you like Davina’s music, then please purchase her cds or albums. Streaming is ok, but the artists make very little from streaming. If you really want to help the artists and keep them touring and making new albums, then please purchase their cds/albums. Davina has most of the Christmas songs she played on her new Christmas cd/album, A Lovenest Holiday. Her albums are available on her website.
Davina & The Vagabonds Social Media sites:
Website: https://www.davinaandthevagabonds.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Davinaandthevagabonds/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davinavagabonds/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/davinavagabonds
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@davinavagabonds
Davina & The Vagabonds
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
