Laney Jones and the Spirits – Sunshiny Exuberance!

Laney Jones has an innocent persona brimming over with love for music and song, and so does her band. They opened Wednesday evening for the formidable Spuyten Duyvil, who was just as charmed by her as we were in the audience. Laney sings with passion, and has a voice similar in color to Brandi Carlile. She plays banjo and ukelele, and I watched her swap out and play different harmonicas. The band excelled at vocal textured harmonies, and they performed with all-out joy.

I loved her fearless heart-on-her-sleeve style of singing and songwriting. She has a cute little lopsided smile when she tilts her head back and sings. Now and then, she threw in a wiggly, boneless little dance step. I loved watching her three band mates too: Curtis Seligson, on bass, who closed his eyes and nodded his head from side to side, blissed out by the music; Matthew Tonner, the sturdy and strong, deft lead guitarist; and Alex Shames, peppy as a sportsfan, and energetic and creative on drums.

They cranked out a few original tunes: “Broken Hearts,” “The Simple Truth,” “Homemade Shine,” and more, but their set seemed over too soon. During the break Laney came down into the audience, introduced herself, shook hands with folks, and offered free hugs. I got one!

I read that she was in a recent PBS episode of Great Performances which featured Alison Krauss. Alison is a fan of Laney, and rooted for her career. You can read about that here: www.laney-jones.com/biography. With an endorsement like that, you know this girl is going places.

Laney is a recent graduate of Berklee School of Music and resides in Boston. To find out more, visit her website www.laney-jones.com. (Click to see larger image.)