Paula Boggs Band -- Live at Sweetwater Music Hall

Seattle-based soulgrass powerhouse Paula Boggs gives us a real treat in Live at Sweetwater Music Hall. Bookended by two new songs, “America 2020” and “Get Together,” the album features live renditions of hits from the band’s three previous albums. Yet, the album doesn’t suffer from a lack of cohesion as one might expect; instead, the new songs conjure a theme that other songs rally around very successfully. Complemented by Boggs’s occasional (and delightful) commentary to the crowd at the beginnings of some songs, the album presents a personal and joyful discussion of America, confronting its issues with honesty but without drowning in said issues.We’re definitely not drowning; it’s more like a swim on a sunny day with a fresh breeze.

The overarching theme seems to be the American dream, in all of its iterations, its failures and successes. Often, the songs poke holes in the logic of more traditional
understandings of the term, maintaining the guts and glory of Americana while redefining it, filling in its gaps. The composition reminds us of this purpose often, layering bluegrass elements (fiddles, harmonicas, etc) with soul elements (like rich backup vocals). Here, history and the present are complicated by both Boggs’s lyrics and music; if America is a landscape, this is one convincing concept for its soundscape. “America 2020” introduces us to this, a moving reflection on the George Floyd era, and some of the most memorable songs on the album follow suit.

The third track, “Ponies”, tells the story of Boggs’s family purchasing horses without completely preparing themselves for the undertaking. A fiddle solo in the middle of the song (followed by one for the keys) takes us straight to the pasture with an addictive beat and melody. Once there, though, we are asked an important question about the nature of iconic American images - what are they really based on? Boggs delivers this question with plenty of humor and witty lyrics, but it hits home. She asks, “Why we got these ponies, Ma?” and answers, “It must have seemed romantic / Annie Oakley your muse” (Boggs), poking fun at these emblems of America without losing the spirit that makes them attractive. The underlying message: let’s turn these lone riders into a cowboy collective to achieve something better.

“Ebony Revisited” and “Motel 6 Serenade” follow in the footsteps of “Ponies,” calling to mind the concept of home and what it means for minority America. Love songs and rallying anthems are interspersed between ballads. The other standout on the album, though, is “King Brewster,” which tells the story of Boggs’s ancestor, a man once enslaved in Alabama. The song follows him, in Boggs’s words, “from bondage to so-called freedom”. With a jaunty beat and uplifting melody, the song exudes empowerment and resilience while reminding listeners of the omnipresence of the fallout of slavery, of how much work there is left to be done.

I think I speak for Rainbow Rodeo when I say that these songs leave me aware of this work, but deeply optimistic. When it gets heavy, may we close our eyes, headphones in, and join the Paula Boggs Band for 39 minutes and 4 seconds at Sweetwater Music Hall, where we can get reacquainted with the vision.

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