shy blossom
Cheers to the new year and to new shows and music!
What’s that saying?? Oh yeah, I built my algorithm brick-by-brick. All across my socials, music is the timeline - established artists, nostalgic performances from the past, and of course, new and upcoming musicians.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the honor of the first post of the year be granted to the first performance of the year — shy blossom.
Another group from my sunshine state, this time hailing from Southwest Florida. shy blossom is an indie alternative band consisting of Adriana McDonald (singer/songwriter), Abel Ramirez (lead guitarist), Julie Copithorn (drums), and Hayden on the bass. (Quick Disclaimer: The band is looking for a permanent placement for bass, so if you check them out and are interested, their socials will be linked below.)
Coming across them on an Instagram reel describing a recently released single, Nothing to Say, as “reminiscing on your dreams / your mind running at 3am / worrying but looking forward to the future / leaving the ones you love behind / writing lyrics when you should be asleep / dancing in your room / traveling the world.” How could that not spark my interest? Spark, it did and stayed, and as you very well may know, once I‘m hooked, the deep dive begins!
Almost expeditiously, I metaphorically ran to my music streaming service and ingested all the music and videos they’ve created. Conclusion, I absolutely adore them! Although their recently released single captivated me, it was the lustrous and alluring lyricism and hauntingly melodic voice in their album, Bloom, and EP, Stardust, that kept me sat.
Stardust starts us on a dark and almost enchanting instrumental in Brighter, setting the foundation with McDonald’s siren hums delicately peppering the soft, somber guitar and throbbing drums. The four-piece EP carries a heavy, tumultuous theme expressing evocative pain and anguish when it comes to matters of the heart, a recurring theme in her songwriting.
Moving over to Bloom, the young blossoming singer gives us a beautifully articulated collection of songs that rage to the beat of her predecessors - the likes of The Cranberries, Boa, and even Ann Wilson from Heart. However, she is a voice and artist all her own. She’s a missing piece in the industry. Bloom provides a vibrant plume of catchy hooks, colorful descriptions, and gritty aspects that roll through in powerful succession.
Luckily for me, a downtown Fort Myers live music event just so happened to include my newfound discovery as one of the live artists. Whilst attending events such as these, one is confronted with various musicians all across the genre spectrum, and to hold a crowd is no easy feat…well, unless you were shy blossom. Throughout their performance, they injected a good balance of covers and originals. Most stopped for the covers, which included renditions of No Doubt’s Spiderwebs, Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box, and Sonic Youth’s Cool Thing, to name a few; however, shy blossom had the crowd staying and going wild for their originals. It was during the live performance of their original single, Nothing to Say, that invoked that feeling of frisson. Goosebumps erupted all over while the crowd was bopping their heads, tapping their toes, and completely transfixed on the electric ensemble before them.
I had the opportunity to meet with the band and embarrassingly asked for their autographs on the vinyl I purchased while there. I’m not one to usually ask for signatures, but something about this band pulled me to do so and speak with them. I learned that Adriana wrote her first song at the age of 6, a true prodigy and foretelling of her destiny.
They have exciting opportunities heading their way, and many performances are lined up. I encourage you, if you are in the SWFL area, to check out one, if not all of their shows, or check them out on socials, YouTube, as well as any music streaming service you have.
