TARYN PAPA

Wednesday February 1, 2023

@ Chalet 27 atop The Westin Hotel in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

During the warmer weather months, The Westin Nashville’s 27^th floor rooftop lounge (aptly labeled as L27) becomes one of the local hotspots to grab the best views of the downtown Nashville skyline and the place to be for some of country music’s hottest rising talent; a schedule that this past year included Kylie Morgan, Drew Green, Lily Rose, Grace Leer, Alana Springsteen, and more!

So, then what does one of the premier summer spots do during the cold weather months?

It completely transforms itself into an entirely different aura with their winter pop-up, Chalet 27!

Starting in mid-November, the 27^th floor turns into a Ski Chalet atmosphere that’s ripped right from the pages of a Swiss Alps travel guide, transporting its patrons several thousands of miles away without them ever even having to leave their hometown or the confines of the hotel where they’re staying.

Cream colored Christmas lights hue the elegant ambience as sheer white curtains are strewn about to give a wintery look to the lounge, perfectly accenting against the white-barked birch trees and cozy lap blankets that drape over the backs of the seating.

The created winter wonderland also amps its menu to tickle your senses with festive cocktail additions, as well as delectable dessert options that include cinnamon roll crisps and a chai-mocha panna cotta.

But at its core, what makes L27 always so intriguing is the incredible music!

Taking up residency this February (2023), Taryn Papa satisfies the crowd as the host of The Chalet Sessions - 27 Live’s acoustic music series - wowing with her ultra-powerful voice and embedding a 90’s country infused layer into her modern edged style while also using the platform in perfect timing to correlate with the release of her brand-new EP, AWAKE.

The backing band, which consisted of Ben Kirsch on acoustic guitar and Daniel Rangel on softly played drums, perfectly provided the accent to Taryn’s incredible voice as they played off one another to add the necessary flare to encapsulate the atmosphere of the room.

Opening her set with recent single, “Changed,” the early arriving crowd was immediately introduced to Taryn’s original brand of pop country styling as her vocals radiated through the verses before popping the chorus, allowing the softer titled groove played on this night to present an intriguing juxtaposition to the studio version of the song, giving it a familiar, though different flavor. 

As Papa bounced her right foot in time with the catchy rhythm of Linda Ronstadt’s “When Will I Be Loved,” the crowd noticeably began to nod their heads and mouth the words of the song as they loosened up and slid into the groove alongside her.

Utilizing her first few songs to not only showcase who she is as an original artist, but to also display her vast range of influences, Taryn moved her cover selection into the modern era when she slid into Maren Morris’ “The Bones,” before she’d dance along with the beat of the drum and vibe with the insatiable guitar lick of Shania’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”

“This next song is another original, and it has this cute little lyric video where me and my fiancé are cartoon characters,” Taryn plugged. “My character looks nothing like me, but his…his looks like some sort of fairy tale prince,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders as the ultra-catchy vibe of “Can’t Catch My Heart” allowed her to free flow through the falling in love lyrics as she expertly floated her voice on top the melody.

Digging back to a song she performed on season 19 of The Voice, she snapped along with the beat and popped her hips with her rendition of Little Big Town’s  “Little White Church,” getting many in the crowd to do the same.

“Cheers everybody!” Papa exclaimed as she toasted a happy Wednesday to the crowd with her glass of wine held up in the air, before performing “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” the Carly Pearce/Lee Brice smash which she told was a song that Blake Shelton had chosen for her to do when she was on his team during her run on The Voice.

“I wrote this next song when I first moved to Nashville and we have this cool music video for it that made it to CMT,” Taryn gratefully shared as she pumped her voice into “Persuaded,” showing off her impressive range as she dipped into its lower register during the spitfire style of the pre-chorus, then moved into her higher octaves to power punch home the big chorus.

“This is one of my favorites to sing and y’all be ready,” she warned. “I’m gonna blast some Nicki Minaj up in here!” she finished with a knowing nod as she had the crowd singing along with Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem,” and then true to her word, laced it together with “Super Bass” and brought smiles to the faces of everyone in the crowd as she displayed her keen ability to drop into a rap style.

As the first third of her set rolled to a close, acoustic guitarist Ben Kirsch took over the leads on Ashley McBryde’s breakthrough hit “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega,” but by coming at the song from a male perspective, it carried an entirely different lyrical feel that intriguingly allowed the song to become his own. 

Papa masterfully unveiled a layer of a pure pop influence for the first time on the night as Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” naturally had everyone singing and dancing, while an absolute showing of onstage comradery between her and Ben became a noted connection moment when his deep voice responding with “Dance” vibrated through her in-ear monitors causing her to laugh as the crowd smiled and chuckled along with her.

“This is a brand-new one; a sneak peak of the single that comes out this Friday (2/3/23),” she giddily shared, playing “No One’s Gonna Love You (Like I Do),” a softer paced, sultry laden song which she admitted while looking out at her fiancé in the crowd had been originally written in a sassy way, but turned into the love song that it is since that’s what she was feeling on the day that it was written.

Like earlier in the night when Ben put a male perspective on a female song, Papa twisted the opposite with her performance of Luke Combs’ “When It Rains It Pours,” but also yet again, a showcase of onstage chemistry and personalities shined brightly as Ben piggybacked off the end of specific lines by chiding in with quick blips of Van Halen’s “Panama,” “Amazing Grace,” and “867-5309,” playing a game of ‘Make Me Laugh’ with Taryn; eventually getting her to break with a chuckle near the bridge.  

After satisfying an audience request with “Peter Pan,” which she confessed she had never done before and then joked that it was being brought you tonight by Verizon Wireless as she pulled out her phone to look up the lyrics, Ben then retook the leads for “Chicken Song,” the hilarious Rodney Carrington tune which he did say was much to low class for a classy joint.

“Martina McBride is one of my favorites since forever,” shared Taryn as she dripped her voice into the girl-powered anthem, “This One’s For The Girls,” getting many of the females in the crowd to bop along as they mouth the words, clearly feeling the song as Papa commanded the stage with her spot-on version of it.

The title track to her upcoming EP, “Awake,” saw her once again leaning into her incredibly impressive vocal range, but also perfectly reading the crowd as many newcomers had arrived which allowed her to hit them with her original material first, instantly wowing them as she hooked them in and carried them with her into the last part of her set.

Strapping on the acoustic guitar for a solo performance, Papa gave us another look at her wide range of influences with a stunning rendition of the 4 Non Blondes “What’s Up?” which saw her moving her voice through its paces in a such a crisp way that it was tributing Linda Perry’s original, before she’d inject her quirky personality with a humorously done ode to Phoebe’s “Smelly Cat” from the iconic television show, Friends.  

Staying with just her and the acoustic guitar, Papa delivered a spot that had many in the crowd singing along with her on Lorde’s “Royals,” before Ben retook the leads on “Blue Bandana,” which was pushed right into another “wow” moment when Taryn delivered a flawless version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon.”

With only about twenty minutes left in the set, she pulled into a jambalaya of cover selections that saw her 90’s country influences come to light through “Cowboy Take Me Away” and her pop laden alternative rock influences shine on Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” and Alanis Morrisette’s “Ironic.”

But during those final songs of the night, she left the crowd with mouths dropped wide open when she tapped into her grittier side to add the perfect amounts of rasp to Melissa Etheridge’s “Come To My Window” and Bonnie Raitt’s “Something To Talk About,” which saw the depth of her vocals sliding into bluesy driven territory and wavering at the end of specific lines throughout the song, solidifying one last unique, signature piece to the puzzle that makes Taryn Papa one of the standout emerging acts on the scene today.

On a night when the crowd was half in/half out, in that some of them where there for the entire duration of the show while others popped in for a late-night work gathering over drinks, Taryn used her veteran performer know-how and precise judgement to know exactly which songs to play at which moments so that she’d keep them invested; pulling them in with perfectly timed, well-known covers only to seal the deal when she slid into her impressive array of originals. 

But beyond that clever maneuver, core elements of any Taryn Papa show are her voice and welcoming personality; both which were centerpieces of the overall vibe as she stunned the crowd from beginning to end with her purely powerful vocals and their gifted range, while also providing a comfort level that made everyone in the venue feel like they were simply hanging out with a longtime friend and catching up. 

See Taryn Papa during her residency at Chalet 27 on February 8, 2023 and on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2023.

FULL SET LIST

1) Changed

2) When Will I Be Loved (Linda Ronstadt cover)

3) The Bones (Maren Morris cover)

4) That Don’t Impress Me Much (Shania Twain cover)

5) Can’t Catch My Heart

6) Little White Church (Little Big Town cover)

7) I Hope You’re Happy Now (Carly Pearce/Lee Brice cover)

8) Persuaded

9) Dirt Road Anthem/Super Bass (Jason Aldean cover/Nicki Minaj cover)

10) A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega (Ashley McBryde cover)

11) I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Whitney Houston cover)

12) No One’s Gonna Love You (Like I Do)

13) When It Rains It Pours (Luke Combs cover)

14) Peter Pan (Kelsea Ballerini cover)

15) Chicken Song (Rodney Carrington cover)

16) This One’s for The Girls (Martina McBride cover)

17) Awake

18) What’s Up (4 Non-Blondes cover)

19) Royals (Lorde cover)

20) Blue Bandana (Jerrod Niemann cover)

21) Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac cover)

22) Cowboy Take Me Away (The Chicks cover)

23) Torn (Natalie Imbruglia cover)

24) Something To Talk About (Bonnie Raitt cover)

25) Ironic (Alanis Morissette cover)

26) Come To My Window (Melissa Etheridge cover)

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