As usual on a Wednesday, I only catch the end of early starting shows. But I was glad to catch the end of Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar at the Geomatic Attic, Wednesday, March 27.
They were in the middle of a long, soulful jam on Proud Mary, which started off slowly and picked up the pace to a fevered tilt like Tina Turner was wont to do back in the day.
Her hot seven piece bad got to show off their musical chops including Lethbridge singer Mwansa Mwansa who has been with the band for a couple of years.
The standing room only crowd called them back for an encore of another extended jam on “Send me A Letter.” Martin’s ragged, yet soulful voice rang through the room as the crowd focused on her, breaking out in applause as a few danced in the aisles. She brought out the spirit of Janis Joplin as well as her inner Tina Turner, while still making “Proud Mary,” her own.
After all the band members soloed and broke it down, Singers Mwansa Mwansa and Sherie Marshall, sang a few bars on their own and brought the band crashing back in with a rousing version of “Send Me A Letter.” As it ended, Martin wandered through the crowd, shaking hands and saying farewell, promising to be back soon.