The last time Caitlin Jemma performed in Moab, her busy tour schedule afforded her no extra time to enjoy the area’s red rock landscapes. The view from the stage inside of Eddie McStiff’s Restaurant and Bar was about all she saw during her 2014 visit, she said. She knew that next time she would make time to explore.
Well, “next time” is around the corner for the Oregon-based singer/songwriter, who is coming through Moab on her way to competing in the upcoming Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
Caitlin Jemma and the Goodness will be performing on Tuesday, June 13 at the home of Gigi Love, at 2112 Buena Vista Drive. Love, a local Americana and folk singer/songwriter, will be opening for the Goodness shortly after the doors open at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s a community gathering that I am opening my home to so that the musicians can get to actually meet our community,” says Love. “There is a patio and grass… bring your own food and snacks and drinks and blankets or chairs. It starts promptly at 8 p.m.”
Love will be collecting $10 donations for the band to support them on their journey from Eugene, Oregon, to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
“There are only 12 bands that get accepted into the band competition,” Love said. “It’s very exciting.”
Jemma says that her upbringing in poetry and musical theater in the high desert of Northern Nevada made way for her career as a singer/songwriter.
“My dad gave me a guitar when I was 17,” she said. “I got into songwriting right after that because I had been writing my whole life.”
Caitlin Jemma and the Goodness released their album, “Old Joy”, in October. The 10-piece album includes “As the Crow Flies,” “Heroine of the Highlands,” and “Healing Waters” to deliver a sweet and salty soulfulness that evokes a journey of self; sometimes playful and always reminiscent of the wild west.
“(The concept of “Old Joy”) has to do with self-realization,” says Jemma. “I explored some of my ancestry in the album and I was also working with the feeling that you get inside when you do something that you really love… it’s related to your life purpose. How can you facilitate more of what makes you most happy? For me that’s through music and art, and so that’s kind of the journey on the album.”
Jemma left the small town of Virginia City, Nevada, to attend college at the University of Oregon and then Humbolt State. She now lives in Eugene, where the Goodness is comprised of friends old and new, including Meg Graham on the fiddle, Michael Steinkircher on lead guitar, and Gabe Schliffler on the cello.
While Schliffler and his cello will not be present for the house concert at Love’s on June 13th, the group will be accompanied by Bex Oransky, who will be doing live painting throughout the show.
Jemma began touring six years ago, and is in her first year of touring full-time. She says she was accepted into the Telluride Bluegrass Festival band competition back in December, through networking and persistence. She toured the South most recently, and otherwise has been lately staying on the West Coast.
“I am really looking forward to connecting with the mountains and the people (of Utah and Colorado),” Jemma said.
The band has planned ahead to allow time for camping and exploring the Moab area, both before and after their house concert with Love.
“House concerts are really fun because they are really intimate and we can meet and hang out and be casual,” Jemma said. “So if people are looking for that, they should come out and have some fun.”
Telluride Bluegrass Festival band competition contestants Caitlin Jemma and the Goodness to do house concert in Moab
“It’s a community gathering that I am opening my home to so that the musicians can get to actually meet our community.”
When:Tuesday June 13, 7:30pm
Where:Home of Gigi Love, 2112 Buena Vista Drive
Cost $10 donation
Please RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/337486190002741/
Bring your own drinks and snacks, blankets or chairs
For more information, visit www.caitlinjemma.com or call 970-426-9475
