On March 18^th, Tedeschi Trucks Band continued their streamed concert series with the fifth edition of their fireside sessions. Founding members and married couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks represented the entire band for this live performance. The couple founded Tedeschi Trucks Band in 2010 by combining their respective acts Susan Tedeschi’s Soul Stew Revival and Derek Trucks. Trucks is also known for having played guitar for The Allman Brothers Band. Tedeschi Trucks Band is rooted in blues/rock music with elements of jam band, southern rock and country style music.

The screen showed a bird’s eye view of a green and brown forest scene as the band carried out their soundcheck. The camera eventually panned down to a brown and red barn style house adorned with string lights. Eventually, the camera cut to Tedeschi and Trucks, who were both seated, and dressed casually in a homey-style studio decorated with neutral browns, beiges and greens, with vintage touches including a vintage Old Post Blue Ribbon sign. The band used video clips throughout the show in order to set the tone for the concert. Between songs, the audience saw clips of a small wooden bridge, flowers, a crescent moon and string lights lit against a darkening sky. Similarly, the camera occasionally zoomed in on Trucks’ guitar-strumming fingers and Tedeschi’s passionate facial expressions as she sang. These clips served as a visual representation of the authentic, country-esque style music to follow.

The couple kicked off the performance with a cover of Neal Casal’s song “Day In The Sun.” This dreamy rendition started with a sweet-sounding, plucky acoustic guitar. The song, overall, evoked feelings of optimism through its lyrics: “come down and give yourself another chance ‘cause you will have your day in the sun,” as well as Tedeschi’s smooth, melodic vocals. With the conclusion of the first song, Susan Tedeschi welcomed fans to the night, thanked them for their support and expressed excitement at the prospect of playing live, in-person performances in the coming months. For their second song of the night, the band chose to cover Elmore James’ “It Hurts Me Too.” The song opened with a lo-fi electric blues style guitar followed by Tedeschi’s passionate, Joplin-reminiscent delivery of the lyrics: “you love her more when you should love her less,” which painted her a convincing scorned woman. The sound of two electric blues-style guitars playing against each other added to the song’s confrontational feel. Tedeschi made small changes to the lyrics, opting for use of female pronouns in place of Elmore’s original lyrics “you love him more.”

For their third tune, Tedeschi Trucks Band opted for their first original of the night, “Do I Look Worried.” This selection started off slower and smoother in vocals which allowed Tedeschi to showcase her distinct voice and powerful emotion. Throughout the selection the guitar and vocals utilized coordinated, strong accent notes that added an extra oomph to the blues-rock song. The song featured guitar interludes with a softer, scruffy-sounding guitar played behind a screechy, plucky blues style electric guitar. Next, the band premiered a brand-new original song entitled “Here My Dear.” Before she began playing, Tedeschi joked to Trucks, “I hope we remember it.” Being able to hear comments like these between the couple not only added to the authentic vibe of the live performance, but also drew a connection between the fans and the band themselves. The new song began with a dream-like intro followed by soft, sweet vocals. The song was poetic in nature and beautiful in delivery.

Next, the band covered Chester Burnett’s “Meet Me In The Bottom,” which Tedeschi described as “an old blues song.” The song began with a classic blues guitar accompanied by the sound of hands clapping as well as Tedeschi’s soulful, hearty vocals. For their sixth selection, the band chose to perform Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” in the style of Nina Simone’s cover of the same song. The song itself had a consistent melody and was slower in tempo than their previous selections. This spiritual, flowy song captivated the audience in its story as Tedeschi was able to showcase her vocal range.

“The Storm” came next, and again, Tedeschi’s vocals were strong, showcasing a Joplin-inspired quality. Tedeschi sang one lyric followed by a raspier, louder, higher and more soulful lyric. Within one of the guitar interludes of this blues-rock tune, the guitar part abruptly lost its blues quality and became slower and more melodic, only to have it slowly become reintroduced before the end of the section. This change added some welcomed, interesting variety. At its conclusion, Tedeschi noted that the song “sounds weird without the drummers” and expressed her excitement for the time when the entire band can reunite at an in-person concert. Trucks and Tedeschi then covered Eric Krasno’s “Calling Out To You,” that began with a sweet and slow intro that helped set the stage for the spiritual-sounding, indie/folk style music to follow.

Susan Tedeschi introduced their ninth selection of the concert by thanking Bob Dylan for his contributions to the music community and shared that his songs are some of her favorites to sing. “Don’t Think Twice Its All Right” opened with an acoustic guitar joined soon by a whistle-sounding high-pitched electric guitar. The constant rhythm of the acoustic guitar under the electric riff during interludes added a country quality to the song. For the penultimate track of the night, the band played Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin’,” which opened with a suspense-inducing blues/rock guitar intro. Tedeschi kept her vocals clear and soulful while she gradually built them up to vocals more typical of blues performance. During the lyrics “skipping over the ocean,” the guitar section took a quick break which allowed for Tedeschi to highlight her raspy, passionate voice and added emphasis to the song overall.

Finally, the couple concluded the concert with Willie Nelson’s “Somebody Pick Up My Pieces.” Tedeschi first explained how much she admires and appreciates her friendship with Willie Nelson and his family. She then dedicates the song to him as well as the band’s fans. The song induces a somber yet optimistic feel that matches the tone of the concert in general. The song’s delivery was full of emotion, with fans noting that Trucks “made the guitar sing.”

Susan Tedeschi thanked fans for joining the couple for the show and again stated that the whole band is excited at the prospect of being able to start touring in the Spring. In response, fans expressed their adoration for the performance with comments like: “I want so badly these gems” and “Wow-this takes me back home” in the public chat. After nearly every song, the couple stopped and smiled at each other, making it abundantly clear that while the couple greatly missed performing in front of fans, they absolutely loved to play music in any capacity. Even with the obstacle of the impersonal nature of a live-streamed concert, Tedeschi Trucks Band achieved a personal, intimate feel that transformed fans to friends.

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