SARA SPICER

Tuesday May 2, 2023

The Porchlight Pickers @ The Local in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis/Photo credit: Honey Island Media Group)

“Come A Stranger” is painted above the entrance when you first walk through the doors of the West End hotspot, The Local, as the establishment then completes their motto when you exit through those same doors, etching the words “Leave A Local” above the door frame on your way out.

“Come A Stranger…Leave A Local!”

This is so much more than just a catchy, 6-word slogan that the neighborhood bar has adapted; it’s a full embodiment of the aura that engulfs the atmosphere inside the speakeasy inspired venue.

Over tables filled with outstanding food and adult beverages, comfortable conversations bring strangers together as friends as some of the most renowned songwriter’s hit the stage to try out their freshest material while injecting the venue with songs you already know and love.

Though Music City is chalk full of unique songwriter rounds, The Porchlight Pickers occupy their space at The Local every Tuesday night and have become one of the go-to rounds for discovering the strongest rising talent.

During the Sheepdog Entertainment takeover, while each of their five individual rounds stood out in their own specific ways, Sara Spicer unassumingly allowed the spotlight to brightly shine on her throughout the 7PM timeslot.

“This first song is about a toxic relationship, and I feel like at some point we’ve all been there before,” she introduced as she slid into the brooding vibe of her current single, “Love Will Hit You Hard,” captivating the crowd through each of the verses with the subtle vibrato built into her deeper tilts, perfectly setting up the gritty snap of the chorus as she impressively moved up her voice to match the fury of the bold warnings she’s offering her exes new girl.

“This next song is a new one that hasn’t been recorded yet, and it’s all about canoodling with someone you shouldn’t be canoodling with anymore,” Spicer said with a smiley shrug as she moved into the groove laden “Under My Thumb,” getting everyone’s head bobbing in perfect timing as their toes slapped the beat on the cement floors while she popped into the jazzy blues swerve that’s naturally embedded in her extremely versatile voice, pounding through all her intriguing registers, striking a deeper toned snarl in the chorus that contrasted against her higher lifts as she spewed out the lyrics while energetically bouncing in her seat with the rhythm.

“I had my fellow artists and songwriters in mind when I wrote this song, but please don’t think it’s just for us. This is for anyone who has a dream,” she encouragingly told as she softened the pace with “Dreams,” leaning on the unbridled emotional tones of her voice to embrace the truth filled lyrics that poignantly shared of how it won’t always be perfect, but when you hold tightly to the deep-seated reasons that made you want to chase after it, then it’s worth everything you go through to get it.

“I need you to imagine this one with a big rock production on it,” Sara told as the guitar dripped into a Seattle grunge fueled lick to encompass the darker toned, sassy revenge song, “Karma’s A Bitch,” which saw Spicer digging into her edgier side to sing through the what goes around comes around lyric while hitting impressive notes as she skillfully bounced her voice along the melody to stamp the crowd with an exclamation point that left a lasting impression.

FULL SET LIST
1) Love Will Hit You Hard
2) Under My Thumb
3) Dreams
4) Karma's A Bitch

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