Dessa – The Chateau – Rochester MN – November 17th 2023
Dessa with Lady Midnight and Dani A’mor – The Chateau, Rochester, MN November 17th, 2023
Review and photos by Kate Klaus
Under the backdrop of a renaissance castle and a starlit canopy at the amazing Chateau Theater in Rochester, MN, a sold-out crowd was treated to a stellar lineup of female vocalists as part of Dessa’s Bury the Lede tour.
Opening up the night was Rochester’s own Dani A’mor, a local favorite with a stunning voice, harmonized with a fiery, strong, and sultry personality and captivating stage presence. Primarily a soul/funk singer, she was backed up by DJ EyeOwe, and the pair filled the theater with beautiful soulful tones and deep and heavy beats. Dani sings with an immense amount of emotion and passion, demonstrating the blend of beauty with power and strength that would be the theme of the night.
Lady Midnight was the next to take the stage with DJ Cassie Opia, and again filling the stunning theater with powerful, soulful music and beats. Named Best Twin Cities Vocalist by Minneapolis’s City Pages, and also named best album for her 2020 release “Death Before Mourning”, Lady Midnight delivers a blend of powerful soul, R&B, and Afro-punk, and even some electronic pop. Not only is her voice captivating, but her lyrics are poignant and the storytelling nature of her music connects the audience with her background, her thoughts, and her drive to bring awareness to BIPOC and LGBTQ youth issues as well as women’s empowerment with strength, poise, and beautiful musicality.
Dessa then continued to build on this energy as she took the stage. A multi-talented artist, who’s other endeavors include writing poetry, essays and fiction, and speaking and facilitating discussions on art, science, business, love and creativity, she instantly captivated the audience with her commanding and yet humble presence and intensely emotional performance. She rotated through songs off of her recent 2023 release “Bury the Lede” and all the way back to her 2013 album “Parts of Speech”. Dessa is one of those performers whose connection to her audience plays a key role in her performance. A few songs into the set, she professed her dislike for barricades, and had the crowd help her open the front barricade so that the highly engaged front of the audience could join her right at the edge of the stage and share in the energy of the music. Later in the night, she wandered out into the center of the crowd, asking for house lights down and just flashlight illumination while she read one of her poems to the mesmerized audience. A Dessa show is not just a concert, but a connection to an artist who brings poise, strength, and immense depth to all areas of her art, and it was surely a memorable evening for the sold out crowd at such a picture perfect and spellbinding venue in Rochester, MN.
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