MEI SEMONES, CARLOS TRULY, AND BLOOMSDAY CELEBRATE BAYONET RECORDS’ 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH A NIGHT OF LIVE MUSIC
NIGHTCLUB 101 — NEW YORK, NY
On Friday night, Mei Semones, Carlos Truly, and Bloomsday packed out Nightclub 101 in New York City in honor of Bayonet Records’ 10-year anniversary celebration. The three acts entranced the audience, with the intimate venue allowing fans to feel like they were on stage with the performers. The night shifted seamlessly from Bloomsday’s melancholic indie folk to Carlos Truly’s jazz-inspired R&B, and finally with Mei Semones’ bossa-nova-influenced pop.
Bloomsday opened the night up playing songs off their new album Heart of the Artichoke and unreleased material. With just the right amount of country twang, their set had the audience swaying to lead singer Iris James Garrison’s wispy vocals. They capped their performance with their song “Dollar Slice”, a song in honor of New York and all of the hardships of living in the Big Apple.
Carlos Truly took the stage next, with frontman Carlos Hernandez entering the stage dancing while his backing band locked into a funky groove. The group quickly won over the crowd with their layered instrumentation and danceable basslines, serving as a perfect prelude to headliner Mei Semones.
The crowd was buzzing by the time Mei Semones and her band took the stage. Opening with her song “Tegami”, the room immediately surged with energy. Her set spanned her entire discography, with the audience singing along to every song. Tracks like “Itsumo” had the crowd scatting along to her vocals, while her hit song “Dumb Feeling” off her debut album Animaru sent the crowd bouncing. Between songs, Semones charmed the crowd, joking that she “ate too much pizza”, but her performance was flawless.
Semones took a moment to shout out her band featuring Ransom McCafferty on drums, Noam Tanzer on bass, Claudius Agrippa on violin, Noah Leong on viola, and herself on lead guitar and vocals. Together, her band created a lush, layered mix of jazzy instrumentation anchored by Semones’ dazzling guitar-playing.
The show ended with the emotional “Kodoku”, leaving the crowd cheering and begging for an encore. As her last show stateside of the year, Mei Semones capped the night with a memorable performance. She’ll perform next at NYC Winter Jazzfest before joining Men I Trust for their Asian tour from January through February.
