Grace Loudon @ The Mystic Muse Lodge 12/01/2023

The Mystic Muse recently celebrated its 6th Anniversary as a venue, marking is an established venue in the SL music world. On January 12th, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting this multivenue location on the occasion of the rez day for one of my friends, the talented singer, Velvet Rose. She and her brother Sully VonSwag, who is also an SL musician, own the Muse. This particular PAR-TAY was in the Lodge venue. One the things I find interesting about "The Muse" is how much Sully and Velvet create to this exceedingly comfortable venue. The Lodge is a Sully creation, resembling a large log cabin with a high, open beam (again logs) ceiling. A rustic representation of the Muse logo is on the wall behind the stage. There are four intans positioned around the dance floor offering fast, ballroom and a plethora of romantic dances, including the common "Slow" collection. Beyond the dance floor a large brick fireplace anchors a comfortable seating area perfecting for hanging out before, or after a show. The tip jars are the red santa bags left and right of the steps leading up to the stage.

As much as I enjoy Velvet's shows it wouldn't be fair to make the Rez Day Girl working on her special day. Sully was able to get the amazing Grace Loudon to sing for his sister, and was also generous enough to invite all of SL to this fantastic evening of music and fun. Grace is one of the amazing artists in SL who plays, sings and writes. This set included all of her talents, starting out with a throwback to the one of the best summers of my life with a rendition of Baby I Love Your Way from Peter Frampton that put the "love" in love song. She followed it up with a fantastic and new (to me) song from the artist known as LP (yep, had to Google that one folks. Yep, I'm older than dirt) called "Lost On You". Its no wonder Grace added this delightful song to her deep and wide repertoire. The meaningful lyrics and catchy tune is perfect for a good time. An ode to her deep and wide talent, Grace delivered a performance of "I Feel The Earth Move" by Carole King (yeah, I know another guy is credited on that song too. Yes, I know his name. No, I don't want to talk about it) and then seamlessly slipped into one of the best love songs from one the greatest groups I've seen in concert (before hell froze over), "Best of My Love" by the Eagles.

Wanting to bring the crowd to our feet, she kicked into "Blinding Lights" by The Weekend (More Google, yes, my knowledge of Pop music ends sometime about the early 90s). This is definitely a toe tapper and I could feel energy start to rise. Grace followed this with the first original of the night, "Alright" and then into "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy (appropriately the SL version of the lyrics). After this slightly comical (and far too appropriate) homage to SL relationships, Grace treated us to 3 more of her original works. Each one highlighted a different aspect of her amazing voice, incredible playing ability and creative imagination. These were "Just Like Water", "Fall Down" and "I'm in Love". These are definitely songs you want to put in her request box (that's the naughty box for you perverts reading this).

The last song of the is set was the compelling Pink song "River", a truly spectacular end to a wonderful hour of song and company. I was delighted to have been a small part of Velvet's Rez Day and excited to see a crowd of people coming together to celebrate a milestone.

If you're a fan of artists who play live and particularly a multi-instrumentalist can write her own songs and is a sweetheart, track down Grace Loudon. If you're lucky, you'll catch her at The Mystic Muse, like I did.

With her acoustic piano, guitar and a voice that can be gritty and dark or light and pretty, Grace Loudon has an impressive vocal range and unique style that allows her to perform a mix of originals and covers. Whether laid back, easy going love tunes or powerhouse rock ballads that draw out your emotions, Grace Loudon, a part of SL for 19 years, has skill and talent that comes through in every song.