Courtesy of Anne Tello

Anne Tello and her 3-piece band took the Figment Festival on Governor’s Island by storm last Saturday. The pleasantries of a summer sun-beamed park were eclipsed by Anne Tello’s stellar performance. With a backing band full of jazz virtuosos, the incoming crowd couldn’t resist to move.

The sunny weather, refined colonial housing and full bloom of spring however did set a nice backdrop for the band’s performance. The band layed into their first song full throttle as Anne Tello’s dazzling vibrato cascaded down from the heights. The opening number detailed a tumultuous love affair redeemed by the hooky catch phrase: “he bought me a microphone”.

With a voice as effortless and passionate as Etta James, Anne Tello’s presence radiated full confidence and vocal mastery. The first song unleashed into an expansive scat solo, where Anne and the band responded to each other’s feral energies. One-by-one, the crowd was sucked in, drawn from the sunny corners of Governor’s Island and commissioned to dance.

The second number bloomed to life with an Afro Groove, winding its way to a chorus that humbly proclaimed: “We are stardust”. The drummer’s set up was a far cry from conventional; he massaged the drums with his fingers, serving as both a percussionist and traps player. The bass player held down the fort with his languorous bass lines. Following the second number there was even an expanded bass solo, where the bassist changed keys, seguing the band into their third number effortlessly and seamlessly.

Anne Tello’s vocal styling often took on a gypsy character. Dabbling in and out of Phrygian modes, there was a darkness that felt Eastern and shrouded in mystery. The guitarist’s chordal phrasing and rhythmic strums accentuated this, bringing out the darker undertones inherent to the song structures.

Anne Tello’s physical appearance was striking. She wore a black baseball hat with bright fuchsia hair spilling out the sides. Her presence dominated the stage, though in between songs she was modest, friendly and approachable.

In a later song, Tello proclaimed: ‘I feel so blessed to know that my gratitude is the source of my unrest”. This is a deep and awesome insight, it felt as though we were all lucky to be serenaded by Telle’s sublime voice and imparted with some of her heartfelt wisdom.

Check out Anne Tello’s single #Think Different and visit her website here.