Davina and The Vagabonds

PRESS QUOTES
“Two things distinguish this fine band, the first being leader Davina Sowers’ big, nostalgic soul voice, something between Etta James and Madeleine Peyroux. The other is the band’s crisp, clean sound, just piano, upright bass, trombone, trumpet and drums. No clutter.”
- The Billings Gazette/ Billings MT

“…First was Twin Cities singer-pianist Davina Sowers, who sounds like the daughter of Leon Redbone and Betty Boop trained on piano by Randy Newman. Backed by an upright bassist and trombonist, Sowers delighted with some sassy originals and sly covers of Billie Holiday, Fats Domino and “Has Anybody Seen My Gal.” Her slurring, Southern voice (she moved here from Key West, Fla., in 2005) sounded affected and alluring at the same time.” -JON BREAM, Star Tribune/Mpls MN (Opening for Pinetop Perkins)

“At first glance, the very idea of a blues band without a guitar player strikes the mind as a daring if not totally outrageous concept. But, Davina & the Vagabonds, a Minneapolis-based quintet driven by New Orleans horns and the campy purr of vocalist/pianist Davina Sowers, carry it off with such aplomb that you won’t miss the usual six-string histrionics one bit.Listening to Davina & the Vagabonds is like stepping into a wondrous musical time machine. They have the panache and superlative musicianship to recreate the retro sound and ageless appeal of golden age Americana in high-definition reality on stage for your immense pleasure and enjoyment.”
-KEN WRIGHT, Thunderbay Blues Festival/Canada

“Hardest -working Blues woman in Minnesota, but……two things remain consistent at all her shows, though: her throaty but cushiony voice, which has a sort of hard-mattress comfort to it that’s part Bonnie Raitt, Etta James and a little Amy Winehouse, and her band’s rollicking New Orleans flavor, driven home by dueling horn players and a bayou-thick standup bass”
-CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune MPLS MN

“At first listen to Davina and the Vagabonds, you imagine the tones escaping from a 300-pound blues musician. It seems unlikely that much power is coming from the slight frame of one Ms. Davina. It sounds like an unnatural force, pulled from some secret spot in the belly no other singer has yet discovered. It’s a low bellow, most closely aligned with Amy Winehouse’s walloping alto. But Davina takes “retro” back further than Winehouse and her Phil Spector reminiscing. She beckons an age when bad girls wore red lipstick and pin curls. Her music may be adorned with exceptional groaning trumpets, rat-a-tatting drum rolls, and staccato piano lines, but nothing deserves the complementing position to her voice. She’s in a league of her own.”
-Erin Roof – City Pages

“..this girl is something special and her band is top notch..she just simply sits down at the piano and totally takes over the room.”
Fizz Kizer -The Honkytonk Cafe / Wisconsin

“….one of the most distinctive and expressive vocalists to come around in a while,  with tight backing from the Vagabonds “
- BluesBytes /Phoenix Blues Society (AZ)