Sarah Jaffe * S1 * Blue, The Misfit * Sam Lao

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE ON OUR FACEBOOK OR TREESDALLAS.COM https://www.facebook.com/SarahJaffeMusic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPOnh6R1cOA For 28-­‐year-­‐old singer-­‐songwriter Sarah Jaffe, Don’t Disconnect is both a mission statement and a call to arms -­‐-­‐ an album about getting to know yourself in a hyper-­‐ connected world that makes it nearly impossible to do just that. The leadoff track from the Texas-­‐born musician’s third LP sets the tone: “Middle of the line/ Middle of the road,” Jaffe sings over mid-­‐tempo beats on “Ride It Out,” “Nowhere to hide on this logical plateau/ Gunna have to ride it out.” “Riding it out” -­‐-­‐ that is, facing your reality and learning how to cope with it, is a powerful opening credo for an album titled Don’t Disconnect, which emphasizes the power of staying truly “connected” without unplugging from the world around you. In the six years since her debut EP Even Born Again was self-­‐released in 2008, Jaffe’s endearingly stark narratives have gone from homespun folk-­‐pop songs in the lineage of Lucinda Williams to decidedly cathartic blues-­‐pop ballads that rest at the intersection of indie, folk, and electronic -­‐-­‐ without losing any of the thoughtfulness or intimacy. “In a testament to old and new,” she once sang on her EP’s title track, and that is a designation that stands even as her music continues to evolve. Part of Jaffe’s charm comes from that fact that she writes all of her lyrics herself: after wowing crowds at Austin City Limits in the late 2000’s, she earned local recognition through the Dallas Observer Music Awards and signed a deal with Kirtland Records in 2010. Her Kirtland debut Suburban Nature followed exposing the artist to an international audience who found solace in the album’s confessional, literary aesthetic without forsaking, as one reviewer put it, “the decidedly punky force behind the quiet façade.” Suburban Nature was still minimal-­‐-­‐ produced by John Congleton, who cut his teeth working with St. Vincent and Wye Oak -­‐-­‐ but this time Jaffe was joined by a band, who rounded out the tenderness in her voice with lush overtures that made it poignant. “If you say go, I’ll go,” she sang over delicate guitar strums on “Stay With Me,” before adding in an understated croon, “Please stay with me.” The record’s hit single, “Clementine” captured a similarly beautiful sentiment about living, freedom, and the wonder of being young: “50 states, 50 lines, 50 crying-­‐all-­‐the-­‐times/ 50 boys, 50 lies, 50 I’m-­‐gunna-­‐change-­‐my-­‐minds”.