LOUISIANA NEVER SEEMED SO FAR AWAY...

Wendy Colonna has said that her music speaks to her. At Luna Friday night, her music spoke volumes to the crowd.

I first discovered Wendy’s music last year. I was headed home from work and had the radio tuned, as usual, to KSYM for the Third Coast Music show when I heard her voice. At first I thought it was Bonnie Raitt. When the DJ back-announced the last set, I discovered it wasn’t Raitt after all, but Louisiana’s Wendy Colonna.

At that point I knew I had to see her the next time she came to town, to make sure she sounded just as wondrous in person as she did on the radio. Finally, all the proper elements in the universe aligned themselves and I at last got the opportunity to see her. She didn’t sound as wondrous as she did on the radio. Happily, she sounded even better.

When she wasn’t channeling Raitt, it was Janis Joplin…not as gritty but that same deep-down-in-your-soul kind of blues. And the way she sang “Louisiana” made this Missouri girl wish she was from the Bayou State.

She thanked the Luna gathering several times for coming out and supporting live music, adding “The record industry is dead so it’s places like this that keep music alive.”

The award-winning songwriter keeps up a grueling tour schedule, criss-crossing the state of Texas and points beyond.

Do yourself a favor. Go to her website. Pick a date to go see her. Take a road trip somewhere or head north on I-35 to Austin, her home base. Or, wait until she comes back to San Antonio…she likes the atmosphere at Luna and plays there fairly often. But don’t wait too long. She is THAT good.