She spins on radio stations across the US, on stations across 10 other countries including London, Ireland, Germany, and Greece. She is the highest nominated artist in Detroit Music Awards History. Sista Otis and the Wholly Rollers broke the record for most nominations for a single band, with 16 nominations in 2004. Sista Otis is an eclectic mix of rock, jazz, blues, and we can’t forget heart and soul.
Sista Otis is on tour promoting the release of her newest album "Worldwide Release" and she chose to hit Nashville. Ok, so I hear she is going to be in town and I start wondering how big a crowd will she draw since she has never played Nashville before? Of course I had to go see for myself if she could hold up to our towns expectations of music since after all, we are Music City, USA.
As I sat sipping my Honey Nut Cheerios cafe I noticed this chick walk in. Next thing I know she grabs a guitar and jumps on stage. It’s Otis! She starts strummin’ and while she’s strummin’ she starts talking to the audience. She is about to jump out of her skin to rock out, but there are some technical difficulties with her mic. Otis is cool about it. She just walks out into the crowd and starts up some cool conversation with us. She is totally relaxed.
So, I am sitting there wondering what I was in for and how I could be rocked out because all I saw on stage was Otis with her acoustic/electric guitar and a bass player. Well, my questions were answered when her mic was up and the ride began. It was full throttle from start to finish. Her super high energy involved a give and go relationship between her and the crowd. It was Indie at its best. She played almost all of the songs from her new album including, “Rollin’ Stone,” “I Didn’t Do It,” and “Love is Spiritual” and she threw a couple others in for kicks.
Nashville proved my suspicions wrong. Otis had a worthy ruckus going on. She proved that Music City likes it, “Sista Otis Style.”
Sara E. Walker
GirlAuDio@NashvilleRock.net