Wine, Women, and Song

To See Rating: 6.5/10
Just Curious Rating: 7/10

Victoria Wimer Contreras sings at Palace Ballroom

On any given night in Seattle, there are at least 30 shows to choose from and even more so on the weekends. How does a show stand out? People have their favorite venues, but rarely do you see the kind of creativity and interdisciplinary involvement that the event Wine Women, and Song had. Debra Heesch of Seattle Theater Group was looking to put on a different kind of event that she could put more creativity into. So she took her favorite female artists and had them find songs from women artists who inspired them and get together to perform them. To celebrate women even more so, Heesch had women winemakers involved (and there’s not that many). Altogether, a very special evening was created.

Walking into the Palace Ballroom was a unique experience in itself. Having gone to Seattle shows for almost 2 years now, it was a breath of fresh air to see a room full of people I had never seen before. The stage was set up beautifully, a red velvet curtain hanging around little round plaques that said ‘Wine’, ‘Women’, and ‘Song’. Having the artists perform the songs that inspired them almost took the pressure off of performing at all. Not having to worry about baring their own songs, they thoroughly enjoyed sharing the songs tried and true to themselves. It was more like an evening amongst friends. The free-flowing wine relaxed everyone even more, creating a female-dominated environment that was accepting and encouraging.

Betsy Olson was a sweetheart, down to earth but with a soulful southern-style voice. Victoria Wimer-Contreras was the girl who could sing any note and sing it well. Without a doubt, this lady could win American Idol. She was classy and beautiful and really sang the diva-style well. Sera Cahoone (of Carissa’s Wierd fame) was the multi-instrumentalist woman of the night, rocking the drums, bass, and voice. Her down to earth country voice was pleasant, but the songs almost sounded too happy to really showcase the beautiful sadness her voice expresses so well in her own material. Star Anna was absolutely the *star* of the show, bringing raw emotion and a rough rock edge to the music (she was the Janis Joplin of the evening). Her beautiful rasp and pure emotion made it seem as if she was giving the all of the last bit she had in her when she sang. Her renditions of Neko Case and Blondie (check the video below) were among the best performances of the night.

For more videos from the evening, go here.