MAKAYLA LYNN

Tuesday September 6, 2022

@ The Basement in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

One of the best things about living in Nashville is when you go out to support a friend who is playing a songwriter round and you end up completely captivated by one of the other songwriters on the bill and walk out their newest, biggest fan.

That’s exactly how I discovered Makayla Lynn!

The artist/songwriter, signed by Dreamlined Entertainment Group, punched home songs during that night’s acoustic songwriter round that hit the audience’s heart with true to life lyrics that wrapped around ideals of classic country storytelling, but smartly kept focus on her incredibly powerful vocals that displayed how fluidly Makayla could move from one feeling to another to press out the proper emotions with each line she sung.

With work on her new record now nearly completed, Makayla Lynn gathered with her full band to take over the popular Nashville hotspot The Basement and deliver pieces of her forthcoming record in a brilliant spotlight shining moment that secured her place as one to watch.

“I have been a witness to hate and love, what one can do and what the other one does,” sang Makayla as she allowed her crisp, clean vocal to captivate the crowd over an acoustic intro before her full band kicked into gear as she opened her set with “Witness,” singing a looking in the mirror type of lyric that sees her questioning all the times she could’ve stepped up to be the difference maker while having to face her convictions that are telling her that it’s not too late to start right now.

Sliding out of “Witness” and right into the tempo driven groove of “Spare a Little Change,” Makayla not only got the crowd bopping along with her but continued unraveling poetic lyrics that challenged us to raise up and do better for all those who are surrounding us.

“I really do appreciate y’all coming out,” she gratefully stated. “I’ve been in the studio working on this album with Jen and Keith Stegall, so I’ve never really had the chance to play all these songs out yet,” she confessed as she slowed the pace with what she said will most likely be the album’s title track “Oldest Daughter,” an autobiographical tune written by her and Jen from their perspective of being the oldest sibling in their family, which not only pulled the otherwise rowdy audience deep into the song, but transformed The Basement into a true listening room as a deafening silence covered the crowd as they hung on her every word.

Kicking the groove into a bluesy country realm, Makayla let loose vocally and danced around center stage, unapologetically praising her husband as she played “I Got a Love,” singing the ultra-positive lyric of how she may not have much, but she has everything she needs in him.

With a juxtaposition of sonic feels from song to song, a stark moodiness then reverberated through the venue on “No More Leaving Now,” before she once again turned the venue into a listening room by silencing the crowd with “Feel Like Him,” a slower tune that transparently sings about trying to run away from a broken heart, but reveals the hard truth that until you face the pain head on, the memories will follow you no matter where you run or how far away.

“This next one is something not on the record, but I wanted to add it into tonight’s set because I thought if I could play it out this would be the place to do it,” told Makayla. “If anyone is here tonight that’s in the Nashville music industry, then I think you’ll understand,” she finished as she played “Not Everywhere Is Nashville,” speaking straight to the heart of the struggling musician who’s experiencing the extreme highs and lows while chasing a dream in a town that is more interested in telling someone “no” and slamming a door in their face before ever saying yes, as she summed up Music City with the totally honest line, “where dreams go to live and hearts got to break.”

“I don’t know if I’ve ever done this one on stage before,” she confessed with a slightly nervous laugh as she played “Dreamer,” which perfectly piggybacked off the song played just before it (“Not Everywhere Is Nashville”) as she sung of the wide-eyed dreamer chasing after something that has such small odds of success, and the affects it has on those important people who surround you with support; mother, daughter, etc.

With guitar shreds and a “Mustang Sally” type of feel in the rhythm that caused a sway to begin happening on stage that transcended across the crowd, Makayla tilted her vocals into a bluesy growl to deliver the sassy “Love You If I Want To.”

“This is such a special song to me and it’s one that I didn’t ever imagine being on the record,” began Makayla. “We had a moment in the writing room the day we wrote this where we felt pressured, like there were too many expectations, so we scaled it back and just said exactly what all we wanted to say that day instead and it ended up being one of my favorite songs,” she finished as she played “Things She Did To You,” telling the all too common story of someone holding their new relationship hostage as the walls they’ve put up around themselves because of an ex is keeping them now, from allowing the new person to get too close; emotionally told from the perspective of the hurt and pain it’s causing said new person.

With an all-out jam that leaned a little deeper into their groovy side, Makayla Lynn closed out her 45-minute set with the feel-good bop, “Somewhere In-Between,” keeping heads bouncing along, shoulders dancing, and toes tapping all the way until the final notes were played and a supportive ovation bellowed out of the crowd.

When you first hear an artist/songwriter playing an acoustic set, as was the case when I first heard Makayla Lynn, and then you get the opportunity to see them with a full band, you get a full spectrum view as to who they are as an all-around performer.

Whenever there’s a full band behind an artist as opposed to only playing acoustic, the performance becomes all about the balance! Something that Makayla Lynn and the band behind her perfected. Each band member knew their respective roles in making the music pop, but also was crafted enough to never overplay the lead women, Makayla Lynn, effectively keeping the spotlight on her powerful vocals, incredible range, and outstanding songwriting, while simply acting as the drive so that she could punch the audience with each word she sung.

Most importantly, though, Makayla Lynn put together a performance that absolutely did the trick to creating a substantial amount of buzz for all the new music that she’s been working on in the studio, and the new album that’s just on the horizon!

FULL SET LIST

1) Witness

2) Spare a Little Change

3) Oldest Daughter

4) I Got a Love

5) No More Leaving Now

6) Feel Like Him

7) Not Everywhere Is Nashville

8) Dreamer

9) Love You If I Want To

10) Things She Did To You

11) Somewhere In-Between

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