When Lady Blackbird opens her arms and releases her powerful voice, halls fall silent and audiences swoon. She wears her imposing head of snow-white hair like a crown, befitting her status as the new queen of jazz and soul ballads. It’s no accident that critics have already compared this American singer (born Marley Munroe) to Etta James, Nina Simone and Billie Holliday. Lady Blackbird’s latest album Slang Spirituals (2024) was reviewed enthusiastically in OOR, although the Dutch music magazine wondered if you could ever really capture the magic of such a great soul singer on a studio recording. So, they added: definitely go see her live! On stage, this diva does indeed come completely to life. She often doesn’t need more than a solitary guitar or piano as accompaniment, although her intense, raw outpourings measure up just as easily to a pounding electric band.
