Jonell Mosser in Concert

Tonight we went over to visit with our friends Caryl & Jerry Holthouse. They treated us to pizza (Thank you, Jerry & Caryl) and then we went to see Jonell Mosser play at Third and Lindsley in Nashville. Wow, what a show.

I think Jonell Mosser is built differently than the rest of us. With Jonell, her vocal chords are attached directly to her soul. What a voice. She is a cross between Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt, with a pinch of an Eric Clapton blues riff thrown in for good measure. Her dance moves reminds you a little of Joe Cocker, but you don’t go to see Jonell for her dancing. You go to hear her awesome voice.

Jonell’s band did a great job. Led by the legendary Reese Wynans on Hammond B3 and keyboards, the band was a great compliment to Jonell’s strong voice and stage presence. Wynans sits behind his B3 looking like a professor, but playing like a demon.

The highlight of the show was when renowned songwriter Gary Nicholson joined the band for Jonell’s version of Nicholson’s song, The Trouble with the Truth. Then Nicholson launched into his rocking song, Jacksboro Highway, complete with solos from Nicholson and Wynan, and a segue into the song, Fever. It was fantastic.

Another highlight of the show was when an audience member demanded a Christmas song and Jonell and the band did a great version of Silver Bells. Without a doubt, it was the best version of Silver Bells I’ve ever heard.

During the show, I was sitting next to a guy that was about 6’5” with his hair died magenta. As it turned out, it was Billy Prine and he joined Jonell for Angel From Montgomery, a song written by Billy’s brother John Prine.

It was a great night. We didn’t get back to the RV until about 2:30 am, but I could have stayed and listened all night. It must be cool to live in the Nashville area and have access to great live music like this every night of the week.

By the way, I haven’t said anything about it here before, but Jerry Holthouse is a songwriter. He wrote the song They Also Serve which was recorded by John Conley and was popular a few years ago.

I was talking to Jerry about the songwriting business and was surprised about how competitive the business is. Nashville is full of songwriters just waiting for that one big hit. Jerry is a graphic designer by day, but in his heart of hearts, he is a songwriter. Remember Jerry, nickel a fish!