Carolyn Wonderland is a blues singer-songwriter originally from Houston, Texas. Carolyn and her four piece band played at Yoshi's Oakland recently. Wonderland (born Carolyn Bradford) has been touring since the 90s and plays hundreds of show each year. She's been a member of many different bands since the 90s and she actually dropped out of high school in order to persue her musical career. Carolyn played mainly guitar during this set, she also played a few songs on the slide guitar. She also can play the mandolin, trumpet and piano. Her music is a mostly a big blues sound combined with a bit of soul, gospel and even a little country. One of her influences is Austin singer-songwriter Terri Hendrix, as Wonderland covers two of her songs.
I went to this show with a friend that has seen her many times in the past decade+. He has even seen her playing in a restaurant in Texas when she was waiting tables at the venue before she played. At this show I saw a drummer friend I know in the audience, Rob Hooper, (an awesome drummer btw). What I didnt know is that Rob used to be her drummer. He was her drummer until he decided to stop touring, to be at home and have a life, instead of the hectic life on the road with 250 shows a year he was doing as her drummer. That's a lot of time on the road. I imagine constant touring can get challenging. Their reunion was lovely to see after the show. It was obvious that Rob, Carolyn and the band were a warm tight little family.
As far as this show...I loved it. Wonderland was entertaining and connecting well with the audience. we sat at a table with another super fan of hers. So between my friend and our table buddy, they had both seen many previous shows of hers throughout the years. As my first time, what I can say is I think she's very talented and if you like the blues, I recommend her shows. She seems like a really lovely human as well, and her blues seems to come from the soul. She's the real deal as one would say. I love that. And as you know, Yoshis is always one of my favourite low hassle venues to see music. Also, we had an absolutely killer meal before the show, with a variety of different dishes. The food at Yoshi's is delicious! Here are some affiliate music links to some of Carolyn Wonderlands' music: Live Texas Trio - https://amzn.to/4fx499R Play with Matches - https://amzn.to/3WlCmjz Moon Goes Missing - https://amzn.to/4dhpNg9
© Cheryl Alterman Photography 2024
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