This past weekend, Moods Music belonged to some hot mama’s. Not referring to cougarship in any way, or any of the workers at the small record store, the Music Addikts & Harmony In Life’s First Hit Listening Lounge: Hot Mamas Edition featured some of the most soulful, jazzy, and folkful singers in Atlanta, much so to The Foreign Exchange Music’s Phonte Coleman and Zo! These three women – Gabbie McGee, Salakida and Carmen Rodgers – brought the house, well, record store, down in an all-acoustic in-store performance.
Opening up was Gabbie McGee, an R&B singer with a scat-like vibe and a folk-like style. Her renditions of "My Favorite Things" and "Let There Be Peace On Earth," done in wake of the earthquake in Haiti, were very soulful and showed a different side of what she presented the small crowd of listeners. She too was celebrating a release "Mississippi's Daughter," which she said "thanks everyone - from my parents to the guy running the corner store b/c they all had a hand in raising me."
The second act was Salakida. Quirky, eccentric and maybe even nervous of the atmosphere, but one thing for sure was her sharp voice accompanying the acoustic guitar. Lyrically, she provides the average-joe/jane realism that is missing in R&B and folk music. Instead of being a fluffy songwriter, Salakida gets straight to the point while managing to be appealing as a songwriter. She sang “Crazy World” effortlessly, but it touched everyone instantly, especially when everyone touched their wallets in response to her cry about the economy.
The lady of the night was soul singer Carmen Rodgers. With a music video for “It’s Me” soon to air on Centric TV, it’s no wonder that the record store was packed. However, that wasn’t the real reason. Rodgers had one of the sweetest and most controlled voices of the night, crooning smoothly beneath the dim lights and calming guitar. Yes, there was hooting and hollering, but it wasn’t overdramatized, yet done in good fashion. In light of her second album Intermission, she was celebrating her EP The Bitter Suite, so songs of anger, jealousy and insecurity laced Mood’s Music Saturday night in-store audience.
Overall, the First Hit Listening Lounge had some of the most diverse and best “hot mamas” Little Five Points has seen in a while, especially its soul music scene. Check out some photos of the night in the slideshow!
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