Davina and the Vagabonds have created a stir with their high-energy live shows, brilliant musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism and commanding stage presence. With influences ranging from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits, the band is converting audiences one show at a time, from Vancouver to Miami and across Europe.
In 2011 Davina released her first full length, all original album Black Cloud. It was named one of the 10 best releases of the year by the Minneapolis Star & Tribune and awarded 4 1⁄2 stars from Downbeat Magazine. Their next release in 2014, Sunshine, hit number 13 in the Billboard Blues Chart and led them to be a musicial feature on Later… with Jools Holland.
Their shows are filled with New Orleans charm, Memphis soul swagger, dark theatrical moments that evoke Kurt Weill, and tender gospel passages. Davina’s voice and stage presence have been compared to Etta James, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday and Betty Boop, but comparisons don’t suffice; she is a true original.
