Dave Fuller writes;

Sweltering Sunday Service with Danni Mayers

It was hot outside but the vibe (and the air) was cool in The Marr’s Bar last night as Danni Mayers and her band performed for us in a welcoming, air-conditioned room. I hadn’t got wind of the band lineup before the gig (I’d seen Danni perform in London with local musicians) and was delighted when guitarist Jon Brown (who appeared with Sacred Funk Quartet back in March) showed up to load in. The other musicians were all new to me, however we did find out that backing singer Tanisha Emmanuel had joined us on her birthday!

The set was predominantly reggae, with a good mix of Danni’s original songs and a few excellent covers, including “Smile” by Lily Allen, “Sweet Thing” by Chaka Khan, “Should I” by Maxi Priest and a rendition of Heatwave’s “Mind Blowing Decisions” that included a clever medley of Danni’s influences with excerpts from Mary J Blige, Lauryn Hill, Louisa Mark, Musical Youth and Sister Nancy.

Danni released “The Archive Project” in 2023, a collection of collaboration works spanning 15 years and several tracks from that recording were performed this evening, including the RnB-tinged “Who Knows” and “Monday Blues” and reggae bangers “Mystery” and “On The Bus”.

The set drew to a close with Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” and “Three Little Birds” that got everyone on the dance floor, and the evening ended with William DeVaughn’s “Be Thankful for What You Got” with backing singers Tanisha and Naomi each having their time in the spotlight.

Danni has worked as a session backing singer for many top artists, but this was a wonderful opportunity to hear her own music with her powerful, soulful voice front and centre in the second of our Sunday Service series. You can check out her album “The Archive Project” on Bandcamp.
https://dannimayersmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-archive-project

Although the turnout could have been better, everyone there thoroughly enjoyed the music and it would be remiss of me to not nurture this new series a little longer, so we will be back in September with something suitably impressive for another Sunday Service and hopefully it will become a regular thing on the last Sunday of every month.

DAVE FULLER