This post is from Out the Other's 2009 Bonnaroo Artist Previews, where I will be posting previews of all the musical acts playing the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
I have inadvertently awesome timing writing about Zee Avi - the Malaysian-born singer released her debut self-titled album on Brushfire Records just yesterday. And I have to say, while I hesitated a split-second upon seeing that she's on Jack Johnson's surf-tastic record label (which in all honestly isn't surf-tastic at all), I found myself thoroughly loving the catchy little "Bitter Heart" the moment I clicked on the link. Avi, while most likely still susceptible to disappearing in a sea of cute early-20s singer-songwriters, seems to have that little extra something that seems to make her stand apart - whether that's the interesting lilt to her voice, the jazzy tilt to her songs, or the Morrissey cover that appears on her record.
Avi has one of those amazing "got discovered" stories as well - the kind I'll continue to find charming no matter how old and jaded I get. After playing her first show in Kuala Lumpur, she posted a video to YouTube for a friend that missed her performance. That led to the posting of more videos, until the diminuitive singer became a bona fide YouTube star, eventually drawing the attention of Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler who helped pass word to Brushfire Records. You can still watch a number of videos on Avi's YouTube channel.
The freshly-released album has definitely been receiving comparisons to the likes of Norah Jones, but personally, I hear more of a Regina Spektor thing going on (I'm listening to the album on myspace right now) or even something Feist-ish. Whatever you liken it to though, I imagine Zee Avi's music will provide a sweetly quiet respite in a long, loud weekend of music.
Zee Avi plays the Cafe Where stage on Saturday, June 13 from 5-6 p.m. Check out the full Bonnaroo schedule on the official Bonnaroo website.
