Two New Stars

You know "A Star Is Born"? Last week, it came true.

Picture a small theater with room for about 100 people. It's called 20 Front Street, named after its address in Lake Orion, Michigan. The 20 Front Street venue provides guests and artists with a family-friendly concert experience in a unique, intimate space. It has been open for less than a year.

That night, an enthusiastic crowd had come to hear Detroit musical artist Sami Mei introduce her debut CD, "Puppets." Sami sings, plays guitar and keyboards, and she writes her own songs. You can hear samples at her website: http://www.samimei.com.

Sami has a powerful, pleasing voice that fills up a room and touches your heart. She has the confidence of a seasoned performer. She loves to entertain.

And she is only 15 years old.

Those of us in attendance that night knew we were hearing something special. The album has many moods and colors, and the sound quality is excellent. it was produced by Pearl Sound Studios in Canton.

Accompanying Sami Mei were Paco Higdon on lead guitar and vocals, Christopher Williams on drums, Tom Phillips on bass guitar, and Kaitlin Sarnacki on backup vocals. Sami received her musical training at Axis Music Academy in Birmingham (http://www.axismusic.com).

"Puppets"
"Impossible"
"Momentary Bliss"
"Run and Hide"
"Taller"
"Too Late"

"Mechanics"
"Numb Chaos"
"Messy Lives"
"Following"
"Ice"

"Don’t Care"
"GPS"
"Palaces"
"Brighter than our Stars"
"Cinema"

You can find several great perfomances on her YouTube channel.

The opening act for the concert was special guest Lia K. Catallo. She is a 14-year-old singer-songwriter from the metro Detroit area. She has performed at over 125 events in the past couple of years. She was recently awarded a bronze medal in the Global Music Awards, singer-songwriter category, for her song, "Stronger" (365 Days, 365 Ways) written about fighting childhood cancer. Lia plays guitar, ukeulele, piano, has written over 30 original songs, and has sung her songs live on Channels 2, 4, & 7.

Lia got started with her mom Jennifer Kincer's Vocal Coaching & Artist Development Studio (http://www.jenniferkincer.com) at the age of 6 and has been performing with the studio for almost 9 years now. She loves to songwrite. She also dances and acts, but music is her strongest passion. Lia hopes to tour someday and raise funds for childhood type of charities along the way. You can learn more about her at Reverb Nation.

The master of ceremonies was 20 Front Street managing partner Allan Goetz, who is very excited to bring talented musicians to the public. Visit the venue's website at http://20frontstreet.com.

All photos by Ed Morykwas. You can view more of these concert moments on his Facebook page.