Abby Jeanne “Somebody to Love” and “Stop and Listen” 2020. 7″ single, limited edition green splatter vinyl. This past weekend we got to see Abby Jeanne perform in her hometown neighborhood (and ours, too!) of Bay View, Milwaukee, at WMSE’s Backyard BBQ music fest.

It was her first performance and visit back to MKE since she moved to NYC just before the pandemic. The night and her concert were perfection. It’s not often that you find yourself in a magic moment and realize it while it is happening but Saturday night at Humboldt Park was one of those special times. The photo below doesn’t do any justice whatsoever but the sun had just set, the heat of the day had broken – just a lovely warm breeze (and no mosquitos biting!), we were in the company of friends and neighbors with Abby’s clear, bluesy voice soaring through the atmosphere.

She performed songs from her 2019 full-length album (Music Box Dancer), debuted brand-new songs, and sang these two covers. “Somebody to Love,” originally by Jefferson Airplane (1967) is a faithful, summer of love psychedelia rendition, though Abby somehow manages to both recreate Grace Slick’s crystal-sharp voice and infuse her own warm, bluesy range into the vocals. “Stop and Listen” (also from ‘67) is a cover by Milwaukee’s own, The Shag. It’s garagey pop, delightful and danceable.