DAVINA SOWERS AND THE VAGABONDS. . .
have created a stir on the national music scene with their high-energy live shows, level A musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism, and Sowers’ commanding stage presence. With influences ranging from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits, the band is converting audiences one show at a time, from Vancouver to Miami and across Europe. In 2011 Davina released her first full length, all original album Black Cloud . It was named one of the 10 best releases of the year by the Minneapolis Star & Tribune and awarded 4 ½ stars from Downbeat Magazine. Their next release in 2014, Sunshine, hit number 13 in the Billboard Blues Chart and led them to landing a performance on the hit BBC2 show, Later with Jools Holland.
DATV’s shows are filled with New Orleans charm, Memphis soul swagger, dark theatrical moments that evoke Kurt Weill, and tender gospel passages. Davina’s voice and stage presence defy category in a different way. Davina has been compared to Etta James, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday and Betty Boop, but comparisons don’t suffice: Sowers is a true original.
From their 2019 album SUGAR DROPS:
The Deep End.mp3
I'd Rather Go Blind
(Live) - PBS Season IV Bluegrass Underground
Taped 333-feet below ground, deep inside Tennessee's Cumberland Caverns, this "musical adventure" series features both well-established and top emerging artists within the broad spectrum of Bluegrass, Jamgrass, Roots, Americana, and many other genres