Review by: Molly Free
I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off my Memorial Day weekend than cozying up in my favorite corner table at Eddie’s Attic for their Songwriter Series featuring my good and mucho talented friend, Ben Deignan with his special guests Jessica Cayne and Scotty Cram.
I have seen this trio perform at Eddie’s before and those performances have always been some of my favorite experiences at the venue. The show sets you up for a fantastic evening of live music.
The beautiful Jessica Cayne set up shop with her PBR tall boy and chilled bourbon on hand. I enjoy hearing Jessica play, not only because she is incredibly talented and charming, but also because I can relate to her music. What girl wouldn’t relate to her song “Possession” inspired by Fifty Shades of Gray or her tune “You Made a Liar Out of Me” about chasing guys around Nashville. Jessica knows her target audience well; the group of single, jaded, 20-somethings at the table to her right. The highlight of Jessica’s set (besides the boy bashing tunes) was her last song “Pretty Girl” covering the insecurities we all go through as humans and I truly appreciated how honest she was at that moment on stage. “To be truly selfless you must be selfish” that quote will forever stick with me, and I still have chills from that song.
Up next was the adorable and equally talented Scotty Cram. I’d seen Scotty perform a handful of times and he isn’t your average musician singing songs about love. Scotty’s voice is very unique and the passion behind his songs is real. He is also a great storyteller telling us tales of heartache and being in love. My favorite song of his was “You Don’t Deserve the Crown” turning the tables on us ladies in the audience letting us know that females can break just as many hearts as the fellas. The highlight of Scotty’s set was when he and Ben sang the fun and crowd pleasing “Alabama Slammer”. While Jessica fueled the current anti-man and relationship movement I’m currently riding, Scotty derailed it with a set full of love songs.
Last but certainly not least Mr. Ben Deignan took the stage. This review may be biased because he is a friend of mine, but let me set up this disclaimer. One of my first shows as a new Atl-ien was one of Ben’s performances at Eddie’s (that I saw in an email from my good friends at Ticket Alternative). I will admit I was first drawn to his looks in his suave little black and white photo but as a legit music fan I did my research and caught a few of his songs on YouTube and was definitely impressed. Fast-forward two years later catching his third show at the venue. Ben started out with some of his older songs including “Educate Me” and songs from the Dirty Laundry Mix Tape, including “Cool” which is my favorite Deignan tune. Ben covered the Bruno Mars tune “When I was Your Man” which the crowd was very pleased with. Ben debuted a new song “Bad” which blew me away as it was very honest and raw. I’ve always been drawn to Ben’s sound because it is so unexpected, unique, and powerful all at the same time. The show closed with “Half Past Three in Carolina” rejoining the trio and their talented bands leaving the crowd more than satisfied with their evening at Eddie’s.
I applaud Ben for bringing us a night full of talent. He knows what he is doing with Jessica warming up the crowd, getting us ladies mad at our men. Scotty comes in and melts our hearts making us want a man, then Ben closes the show making you want to take that man to bed. That is enough praise for Mr. Deignan from me, can’t let his head get too big now.
Check out Ben Deignan, Jessica Cayne and Scotty Cram on their official sites! For more information on upcoming shows, check out Eddie’s Attic event page!
