The California Honeydrops swept through Nashville this week, spending two glorious nights at The Ryman Auditorium in support of Bonnie Raitt on her Dig In Deep Tour. The band kicked off the night of stellar music with high energy, earning them numerous standing ovations from the church-pew-seated crowd. Though the California Honeydrops have an incredibly diverse sound, especially on records, their set Tuesday night highlighted their strong grounding in blues and soul. Founder and frontman Lech Wierzynski, introducing the band, joked about the number of saxophones making an appearance onstage that night.
“I do write tons of songs that we don’t end up playing,” Wierzynski told us in a recent interview. “We’ll record albums of songs that we’ll never play. For whatever reason. Either because they don’t really sound good live or they don’t fit the show or whatever. To me, it’s like the album’s a whole other work of art cause you’ve got people sitting – they’re in their cars, they’re in their houses – you can give them a different taste of your music and of your art, cause you have them in a different place.”
The ones they chose for The Ryman were soul-stirring, rousing and, simply, damn good feeling. The band got their start playing on the street, a venue to which they enjoy returning, and are headlining smaller clubs alongside their Raitt-supporting dates. Throughout the set, it showed – the California Honeydrops have an ability to take the pulse of the room and delight it accordingly. Two of their members took the stage again to join Raitt for “Women Be Wise,” the Sippie Wallace song Raitt recorded on her self titled debut in 1971, adding a richness to the groove and earning them yet another standing ovation.
Raitt, of course, was transcendent – from hits like “Good Man, Good Woman,” on which she was joined by Delbert McClinton, to her Zimbabwean prayer song “Help Me Lord,” Raitt was mesmerizing and impressive, and between songs, charming, witty and humble. If you’re lucky enough to catch the Dig In Deep Tour, get there early and get ready for a full night of truly incredible music.