Essays From the Deep

Mikaela Davis isn’t what you expect her to be— no matter your expectations. The first time someone told me about her and said that she played a harp, I’ll be honest, I was not sure how that was going to fit in with a Festival— though, as someone who desperately appreciates different sounds and instruments when seeing bands back to back— hoped she would fit in with ours. To say I had nothing to worry about is an understatement. Davis doesn’t “fit in” with anyone. She is her own force to be reckoned with.

RYVOLI is made up of two women and two cities, and the duality shows in the music. Jenn Whiteman and Samantha Howard are a folk band, but they’ve found a way to take the delicacy of their art and make it slightly less like the product of some sewing attempt and more like the needle. Their music is overwhelmingly lovely at first listen, but don’t be fooled: they have taken the Lexington, KY grit and infused it with the Parisian colors and flavors that the band is named after, the street Rue de Rivoli, where they met…