Some music needs to be listened intently to. Taken in with a deep and engaging breathe and held there for a bit. Appreciated and experienced. Joan Shelley‘s music is that type of music. Her voice lilting softly over the delicate pluck of a cello banjo or acoustic guitar. The outward emanating reverberation of the electric guitar tones as the vocal’s raft in a sea of sound as a subdued drum kit keeps the time from the depths underneath it. Music that truly blankets you in a way and pays back dividends if you take the time and appreciation to let it wash over you.

Sadly, as artists, the entire audience isn’t always willing to let you take them on that journey. For those willing to drown out the din of a hectic graduation weekend from Dartmouth this past Saturday, we were treated to the warmth and beauty that stems from music like Shelley’s. Taking us away from the grind of the day and the people passing by on the street. Drawing us in for a brief moment to feel where the songs came from and the heart of a songwriter sharing a bit of themselves with an audience. That intimacy and vulnerability is something that so often is taken for granted.

If you dig deep enough and tune out the rest of the noise, you are handsomely rewarded with gorgeous vocal tones and storied songs that can take you away a bit.

Here is Joan and the band performing the title track from her latest record, “Over and Even”. For what its worth, we were listening…