Grammy-nominated songwriter making solo debut at Tucson Folk Festival
The Grammy-nominated Leslie Mendelson opened for Jackson Browne in Tucson, but this weekend's 39th annual Tucson Folk Festival marks the Americana singer-songwriter's solo debut alongside 400-plus festival artists. Gandra Mendelson, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, is set to make her solo debut at the Tucson Folk Festival. She will perform from her five studio albums and several covers, including "Rock and Roll on the Radio," "The Good Life," and "Keep a Little Light On." The setlist includes "Other Girls" and "I Know A Lot of People," which she says is her way of expressing her feelings about anxiety and depression. She opened for Jackson when he played the first post-pandemic live show at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall.
Published : a month ago by Cathalena E. Burch, cathalena e. burch in Entertainment
It also sparked a friendship that brought Mendelson to Tucson for the very first time in 2021, when she was touring with Jackson. She opened for Browne when he played the first post-pandemic live show at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall that September, just as live music was starting to come back.
"Even before the pandemic, the 24-hour news cycle and people dealing with anxiety and depression," she said. "It was my way of talking about those feelings. It was very much of that time and of me wanting to scream and let it all out.”
“It felt right,” she said of her pop approach. “I could have done it a million ways but when we got into the studio we started playing and it played exactly how it came out; it needed to be a rock song. It had a bit of an edge. The subject matter is edgy. I had something to say and it needed to be said.”
"Other Girls" will be on her setlist Sunday along with several other cuts from "After the Party," including "Rock and Roll on the Radio," “The Good Life” and “Keep a Little Light On.” She'll also draw from her five other studio albums with a few covers thrown in, including a deconstructed acoustic version of the Pretenders' "Don't Get Me Wrong," before closing her show the with the final cut on "After the Party," the deprecating "I Know A Lot of People," taken from Heath Ledger's famous quote, "I don't have many friends, I just know a lot of people."
During live performances of the song, she asks if anyone in the audience can whistle, and suddenly "I get like hundreds of people whistling and its the most fun ever," she said. "It’s a blast."
Topics: Grammy Awards, Music