You really don’t want to be late to the 9:30 Club show Saturday night or you may miss a group that promises to be one of Charm City’s brightest exports. Say Chance is opening for the rocker’s Augustana and the Baltimore-based female trio is already gaining national press for their cool sound. The three members of the band — Maddie Freeman, 17, Taylor Broom, 16, and Kelly Rosenthal, 19 — met by happenstance on the Web and soon found themselves musical soulmates. So confident are they in their music that Rosenthal recently packed up her life in California and moved to Baltimore to give the band a true shot.
“I relocated my whole life here,” said Rosenthal by phone one weekday while her bandmates were in school. “I think, ultimately is that we all loved music, and basically the same kinds of music. It was all very visceral. We just clicked and we shared a passion. Plus we have the same sense of humor, the same hobbies. It’s just surreal.”
| Onstage |
| Augustana with Graffiti Six and Say Chance |
| When: 8 p.m. Saturday |
| Where: 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW |
| Info:$20; 9:30.com; 800-955-5566 |
Although the group may be young, they’re working their careers like true professionals with regular songwriting and six-night a week rehearsals. The hard work is paying off with plenty of buzz as their new three-song EP has gained traction on iTunes and generated plentiful buzz. Other online outlets, including YouTube, which has videos of the trio signing covers of John Mayer’s “Gravity” and John Legend’s “So High,” have also prompted music fans to check out the group.
Tours around the region have also helped bring the band to music lovers’ attention.
Don’t think all the hard work is anything new to the group, though. The band was just as dedicated to their art when they lived thousands of miles apart. Most nights would find them spending countless hours writing, recording and collaborating.
Although each has a love for certain well known music idols — Michael Jackson and Madonna come immediately to mind — the group is grounded in stripped down pop rock punctuated with melodies that – as corny as it sounds — belie their age.
“[The music industry] has turned into something that is about shows versus raw music,” said Rosenthal. “We want to keep what we do about the music. I don’t think anytime soon we’ll incorporate flames although that would be definitely entertaining.”
