The Queen Sessions | Featuring Meschiya Lake

The Queen Sessions | Meschiya Lake Honors Bessie Smith

Join us at Hotel Eve for The Queen Sessions, as acclaimed vocalist Meschiya Lake honors one of the greatest inspirations of her nearly two decades of jazz performance: Bessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues.”

Since relocating from her beloved New Orleans to Asheville, Lake has brought with her the music, vitality, and spirit of the birthplace of jazz. A six-time winner of Best Female Vocalist in New Orleans’ premier music awards, including OffBeat and Gambit honors, Lake has earned acclaim both at home and internationally, including the 2019 Danish Music Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album of the Year.

For this special Queen Sessions performance, Lake is joined by Asheville jazz ambassadors Andrew Fletcher on piano and Josef Butts on bass for an intimate evening celebrating the music and legacy of Bessie Smith.

The performance follows Lake’s own history of honoring the legendary vocalist, including her 2019 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival tribute to “The Empress of the Blues.” In Hotel Eve’s intimate listening room, this promises to be a rare opportunity to experience one of jazz and blues’ most commanding contemporary voices celebrating one of its most enduring icons.

“Close to the end of the set, she sang a Bessie Smith blues with the line, ‘I’m as good as any woman in your town.’ In New Orleans music, that’s a bold statement – but she is, and better, too.”

- Alison Fensterstock, New Orleans Times-Picayune

The New Yorker has similarly praised Lake’s thrilling, pre-microphone vocal style and its ability to transport listeners to another place and time.

The Queen Sessions at Hotel Eve

A curated series by Melissa McKinney celebrating the extraordinary women whose voices shaped jazz.

Seating is limited. Reserve your seats in advance. $10/door