Mikaela Davis Graced Montreal with her Graceland Way Tour

 After a particularly bad Tuesday, I made my way down to Bar Le Ritz to catch Mikaela Davis’ stop in Montreal for her Graceland Way tour. Her first time back in our city in 10 years, she killed it and turned my mood right around with that electrifying harp of hers. 

The night started with Johanna Samuels, her solo guitar set was fun, with an interactive crowd moment during her song “Blue Vs. Pinkerton,” a song about the deep divide between Weezer fans. The crowd was instructed to shout Blue or Pinkerton during the chorus, and while I’m not a big Weezer fan I was amusing myself shouting “BLUE!” completely off beat. Johanna Samuels has been on this tour with Mikaela all month and I was happy to be introduced to her sweet voice!

Mikaela Davis started her set off with the first track off of her album Graceland Way, released back in April. “(Looking Through) Rose Colored Glasses” is a shimmering introduction to her lyricism, her powerful voice and the harmony of her band around her. It’s a perfect song for driving on a California highway with the roof down and your hair flying about. Johanna Samuels sang the first two songs with Mikaela, and their harmonies were sweet and their familiarity with each other after touring all month was evident. Mikaela Davis continued the night on her harp, which has always been a beautiful instrument, but Davis has the talent to turn it into a sharp focal point, even in the midst of some good ol’ loud rock and roll. The crowd started small (but mighty!) but as Mikaela played it was as if people were drawn in off of Rue Jean-Talon O to dance, and the number of people in the audience doubled during her set. 

It was my first time at Bar Le Ritz PDB and this night truly blew my socks off. A classic Montreal venue perfect for this cosmic Americana queen. Mikaela admitted that it was her first time back in La Belle Province in 10 years, explaining that the last time she had been here was as a solo act in the middle of a snow storm and she shared a story of her mini van getting transformed into a giant snowball after a show; an anecdote that is both humorous and relatable to us Montrealers, as we’ve all had to dig out some sort of vehicle in a blizzard. To make the night even more Montreal-coded, Mikaela Davis brought up Brad Barr of the Barr Brothers to play a few songs with her, explaining that over the course of her music career she’s liked to meet and find other musicians who incorporate the harp into their music. As her band left the stage and Brad Barr stepped up to play, everyone grew quiet. This iconic duo started with the emotional “Spring Petals in The Snow” with Davis playing a dynamic piano accompaniment to her deep vocals. Brad Barr spent the song adding a haunting guitar layer with his trademark sewing thread trick, which was quite hypnotizing! They then went into a cover of Neil Young’s “See the Sky About to Rain”, an incredible song already but in Mikaela’s voice it was next level. 

With Brad Barr’s surprise appearance finished, Davis’ band went back on for the last few songs. I did notice that Brad Barr, like many of us, couldn’t leave before grabbing a vinyl at the merch table. As the encore, Johanna Samuels rejoined Mikaela Davis and sang “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone” by Paula Cole, which was a fun and upbeat duet from the two. As the night officially ended with “(That’s Not) Who I Wanna Be”, the last track on Davis’ album I knew that all of us in that crowd had been blown away by her. 

I do hope it will not be another 10 years before this powerhouse of a woman graces Montreal with her presence again. For anyone who missed out on this tour I do hope you trek out to see her next time, even if it’s in the middle of a blizzard! Her soulful voice paired with the psychedelic harp and the high energy of her band was a perfect mix. 

This tour ends on Sept 19th in Albany, NY.

Gigi Brown is the host of The Gigi Brown Experience on Sundays from 8-9am.