Anna Moss - High Sierra Kickoff Ft. Opening Set by Sari Jordan - Live at the Crazy Horse

It’s Day Zero of the inaugural High Sierra Music Festival in Grass Valley. Before all the music lovers in the region embark on an adventure they’ll never forget, it’s the great honor of the Crazy Horse Saloon to be the launching point. What you will witness here on this Wednesday night is an encapsulation of the spirit of the festival itself. Love and connectivity transmitted in the form of heartfelt, improvisational music. There could not be a more appropriate artist to represent this ethos.
When people talk about music being a religious experience, they are referencing the type of spiritual journey Anna Moss evokes throughout her performances. Moss’s vocal quality is so unique and deeply healing that crowds find themselves drifting in spaces beyond time and reason. It is in these moments that you can fully absorb not only the smokey, seductive and dynamic nature of her singing, but the cut-to-the-bone lyrics along with it. She takes you back in time to the speakeasys of yesteryear while carving out her own niche as one of the most empowered female artists of our day.
Anna is best known on the folk and festival scenes of North America as a front woman for the band Handmade Moments. She is a universally adored artist whose fans have every reason to relate to her like friend as well as an inspiration. Her multi-instrumental prowess – most notably on guitar and saxophone – propels her into rarified air. She’s a natural-born entertainer, a musical shaman, a renaissance woman, an activist for peace and justice and a freak of nature in the best possible way.
Moving to New Orleans several years ago has influenced Anna’s arrangements and style. This project was hatched in the darkest days of the pandemic while she fought her way through an overwhelming depression. It was in these bleak times that Anna saw the path into the light and honed in her signature “bedroom pop” style. Her 2024 album Amnesty is viewed by many as a modern masterpiece. It’s the kind of record you can listen to over and over, as the songs continue seduce the senses as they reveal endless layers of intrigue. Hearing them live (along with all the others Anna continues to add to her repertoire) somehow freezes these moments in time, like the pause of a dandelion puff before scattering into the breeze.
If you watch this band’s debut video – “Slow Down Kamikaze,” it’s apparent to see how the musicians who became the initial incarnation of The Nightshades, defined the essence of the devastating emotion this band uniquely emanates. Fernando Lima, a local percussionist and drummer originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil is the backbone of this sound. His sparse, jazzy style punctuates every breath the music takes.