Eva’s solo gigs in Annapolis

Annapolis (Maryland) was the perfect place for small or solo gigs in 1994. The old town at the Chesapeake Bay had plenty of bars and restaurants interested in low profile and acoustic live music. Eva would have liked to sing and play in Europe like her brother Dan, but Annapolis proved to be a reasonable substitute. The atmosphere in the bars and restaurants had a certain Englishness and people liked to listen to well-played songs. Eva’s guitar playing had much improved and it combined perfectly with her voice. For a small audience, watching an Eva Cassidy performance could be a meaningful musical event, not just someone with a guitar singing in the background.

Downtown Annapolis

Downtown Annapolis

Russ from Annapolis met Eva in a local pub. He describes this memories here: “It was an open mic night and a number of people were hanging out drinking beer, enjoying the music and waiting for their turn to play. Sitting at a table off to the side was a cute woman with a guitar leaning up against one knee. The place was fairly packed and since there was no one else at the table, I asked her if she would mind if I sat down. She said of course and I sat back to enjoy the music. A few minutes later, a friend who published a local music calendar came over to join me. He also knew the woman at our table and introduced me. She was pleasant enough but seemed kind of shy. I asked her if she was going to perform and she said she might, but still wasn’t sure. She had just come from work and was somewhat grungy and said that she might just go home and take a shower instead. We talked about her work and when it was her turn to play she seemed reluctant to go onstage. She said that she had a couple of songs in mind but wasn’t sure of what she wanted to play. I told her she could play whatever came to her heart and that if anybody didn’t like it to tell them to go to hell.

Eva Cassidy solo

Eva Cassidy solo

“The crowd was acquainted with who she was and gave her a warm welcome. She took out her guitar, apologised for her appearance and started to play ‘People Get Ready’. The crowd was so captivated you could hear a pin drop. She followed with ‘Fields Of Gold’. When she finished the whole place exploded in a thunderous applause as she made her way back to the table.”

5 responses to “Eva’s solo gigs in Annapolis”

  1. James O'Gorman says:

    those of you, who have had the personal opportunity of her live performance have had a rare moment.
    cherish & promote her memory
    james o’gorman

  2. Marlene says:

    I “discovered” Eva Cassidy when I was browsing CD’s at a Borders store and there’s a section where you can actually listen to the songs. I looked at the list of songs on a CD and since I liked Fields of Gold, I clicked on that and immediately fell in love with her voice and her interpretation of the song. From that one CD, I eventually bought all of her CD’s. Her cover of all the songs she chose are so unique and original that to me it sounded better than the original.

    • George Schiebel says:

      I had the exact same Discovery moment @ Borders. Looked through the acoustic section and saw that CD. Within a couple minutes I was tearing up listening to Fields of Gold.

  3. Tommy says:

    This is what live music is all about. Scripture tells us that we entertain Angels all the time unaware, I think if you open your heart and soul you’ll hear them. My 1st encounter with Eva was Autumn Leaves, I spent the next 6 hrs learning as much about her as what was out there!

    • James O'Gorman says:

      Tommy.
      Me too. just one hearing and i’ve spent hours n hours just amazed.
      such a legacy
      never forgotten
      James

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