My sister and I decided to have a chilled out evening on Saturday 22 December before all the craziness of Christmas and go and watch some live music. Vanessa Hartley was playing at Viva la Mexicana on East Street in Bedminster that night so we decided to go and have some nibbles while we were there. I decided not to make this a restaurant review because we only had starters but thought I'd do a write up of the music and food anyway :)
Vanessa Hartley's website Bio describes her songs as 'smooth' with 'sincere' lyrics, in her own words describing her style as a "warm mix of folk and soul, with a pinch of jazz." We definitely saw this in her music that evening, but she also threw in some Spanish songs in the mix too, in keeping with the authenticity of the Mexican restaurant. Either she had learnt these perfectly or she is just fluent in Spanish, but when chatting to her in the short break she said that the restaurant had said she could do them in English but she had told them she'd like to do them in Spanish.
Vanessa did two 45 minute slots as we all munched on tasty Mexican food; one with her dad Everton on guitar, and the second (after a short break) with Annalise Lam on violin (pictured), who she sounded lovely in harmony with - without ever having played together before, might I add! Vanessa's music was relaxing, perfect for the environment we were in, and her soulful voice really defines 'smooth' as her website states. After each song she modestly thanked our claps, and transitioned effortlessly into the next, in some cases flowing straight into Spanish (much to a Spanish child's front row amazement!).
For food we chose the Nachos (pictured) and the Ensalada La Mexicana, both of which were pleasant and I particularly enjoyed the Salad, but we kind of ate them together and they surprisingly complimented one another. The restaurant has a nice feel to it, helped that night by the live music obviously, and the staff were friendly and warm.
An enjoyable evening out :)
Vanessa Hartley's website Bio describes her songs as 'smooth' with 'sincere' lyrics, in her own words describing her style as a "warm mix of folk and soul, with a pinch of jazz." We definitely saw this in her music that evening, but she also threw in some Spanish songs in the mix too, in keeping with the authenticity of the Mexican restaurant. Either she had learnt these perfectly or she is just fluent in Spanish, but when chatting to her in the short break she said that the restaurant had said she could do them in English but she had told them she'd like to do them in Spanish.
Vanessa did two 45 minute slots as we all munched on tasty Mexican food; one with her dad Everton on guitar, and the second (after a short break) with Annalise Lam on violin (pictured), who she sounded lovely in harmony with - without ever having played together before, might I add! Vanessa's music was relaxing, perfect for the environment we were in, and her soulful voice really defines 'smooth' as her website states. After each song she modestly thanked our claps, and transitioned effortlessly into the next, in some cases flowing straight into Spanish (much to a Spanish child's front row amazement!).
For food we chose the Nachos (pictured) and the Ensalada La Mexicana, both of which were pleasant and I particularly enjoyed the Salad, but we kind of ate them together and they surprisingly complimented one another. The restaurant has a nice feel to it, helped that night by the live music obviously, and the staff were friendly and warm.
An enjoyable evening out :)