Raw talent from Joshua Tree here in Mexico

A chance meeting let to a private house concert and a look at an emerging raw talent with plenty of potential

Through a chance meeting at a party, I found myself invited to a private house concert by a young, emerging singer from Joshua Tree California.  She was visiting her godmother in Ajijic, who decided to showcase her to a few of her music-loving friends in town.

The artist was Angela Rose Fields, a 30-something currently living in her beloved remodeled 1982 Ford Ramblette RV named Fancy, and working for the Joshua Tree Musical Festival. Tall,  tan, lovely, and blessed with a blindingly beautiful smile that  reaches all the way up to her eyes, she models, as well paints wonderful signs and writes songs.

It was the songs that intrigued me, and the opportunity to see the emergence of a raw talent, still looking for her voice, although it was obvious that she definitely has one. With a curl of pain and joy reminiscent of Buffey St. Marie, she encapsulates vignettes of the fire and ice that has characterized her life from its birth in Oregon, travels through India, southeast Asia, Australia and now, California.

The concert I saw was in a very small living room with terrible acoustics and a very friendly dog adding an occasional note to the singing – your typical house concert. Angela sang from an elevated landing just off the front door. She projected an endearing mixture of self-confidence and shyness, giving the back story to her songs and apologizing for the fact that she is just learning the guitar. No matter, it was the inner talent I was looking for, and she has it.

Reaching deep into herself, past the shyness and past the need to concentrate on her guitar playing, Angela was able to both connect with the audience in an open, joyful way, while sharing her pain and confusion with them. Her  voice was in  need of breath training and professional coaching, and her guitar playing was more of a distraction, but the emotional transmission belt was running at full speed. She can zero in on feelings and string them out in a raw, unfettered choruses, or a bridge waiting to pull you along to the next verse.

Most of all, she just plain radiates when she sings. No matter what the song, no matter how uncertain the guitar notes, no matter the size and acoustics of the room, when she smiles and sings, her joy overflows into the room and fills it with sunlight and sparkles. That is unique, and why I paid careful attention.

I hae seen many singers with trained voices and practiced stage presences – those are skills that can be learned. But the ability to light up a room, to transmit your life and emotion, to invite an audience into your world, is something you must be born with. Angela Rose Fields obviously was.

The video I shot of her singing at the house concert was obviously not the best and does her no justice. I posted it on my YouTube Channel, but the one below is from her YouTube channel of Ocean Songs done with full orchestration. There is a short glitch in it, which she will fix ASPA, but it does her justice.

You can also check her out on Spotify – she has one song up and more in the works. I will drop I on her pages from time to time just to see where she goes. And maybe the next column about her will feature a better video and many more songs.

Patrick O’Heffernan