MINNEAPOLIS — Arriving five years after forming a band, Chandelier & Bloom is Minneapolis vocalist Mae Simpson’s debut album.
Right away, it’s her powerful vocals that stand out, soaring over her seven-piece band that includes trumpet and saxophone.
“I didn’t do any sort of lessons or anything like that,” Simpson said on Centerstage Minnesota. “This is just who I am.”
The album is a mixture of catchy pop, funk and soul that gives the singer plenty of opportunities to showcase her vocals. But this is not how the group started.
"I can’t explain where it came from or how it happened. I just know that I have to put 110% of me in every single song."Mae Simpson
“It really started acoustically and really an Americana kind of vibe,” Simpson said. “I knew I always wanted horns. I wanted a rock band. So that’s what I have now.”
The Americana beginnings can still be heard on tracks like “Half Like a Shadow” and “Mountains,” and Simpson says the future might hold more of that.
Whatever style the band pursues next, expect to hear her singing her heart out.
“I can’t explain where it came from or how it happened,” Simpson said, “I just know that I have to put 110% of me in every single song.”
Centerstage Minnesota, Fridays at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. on KAXE/KBXE, is made possible by the citizens of Minnesota through the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
