By Matthew Tracy
Finding a musician in the D.C. area as passionate and selfless as singer-songwriter Lauren Calve is like finding a five-leaf clover.
And while five-leaf clovers’ existence is doubtful, Virginia native Calve has made herself known throughout the East Coast with the release of her debut EP,”Between the Creek and the Tracks,” last year.
Her voice makes surprising yet harmonic turns with her slide guitar, and the explosiveness of the band behind her not only accompanies her but adds a necessary force to the emotions of her performance. Songs like “Sweep” will make the listener want to float down a lazy river, enjoying the sight of trees passing overhead.
Aside from her work with the D.C.-based Lauren Calve Band, Calve makes her mark in music by advancing the cause of gender equality in the music industry.
It began with conversations between Calve and her band’s drummer, Ben Tufts: Why do we always see more men than women in bands? Why shouldn’t women bang the drums or shred the electric guitar?
“Those conversations led us to think about how we could incorporate the many amazing female/female-led bands in the D.C. metro area (into) our residency,” says Calve, “as well as make the shows available to younger generations of women with musical pursuits.”
From the fertile soil of these talks emerged Her Roots. The monthly concert series uses venues where the Lauren Calve Band regularly plays to showcase the brightest female musical talent in the DMV area.
Its next performance, this Sunday, March 29, at Jammin’ Java, features cellist/singer Melissa Hyman of The Moon and You, singer-songwriter Jamie Boyd of Jamie and James and singer-songwriter Ileeana Johnson, a high school sophomore.
It’s for girls like Johnson that Calve and Tufts created Her Roots.
“As an incredibly shy but passionate 15-year-old just starting to play guitar and sing, I really could’ve benefited from seeing women on stage doing the things I dreamed of doing,” Calve says.
“I needed that visual. The visual is really an indirect form of support. And I can’t wait for the young women in this area to hear my amazing friends who rock so hard and write incredible music. I think Her Roots is music at its best: bringing people together and affecting positive change.”
Her Roots at Jammin’ Java
227 Maple Ave E, Vienna
Sunday, March 29, 1 p.m.
Tickets: $5 in advance, $8 at the door
