Playing music, Davina Sowers says, is a basic necessity. “It’s rudimentary,” she says. “I need an outlet. Singing has been the way to keep me balanced.”
That internal balance is reflected outwardly in the heavily emotional sound of The Vagabonds, a band 37-year-old Sowers formed in 2006. They play 1920s swing, gospel blues and New Orleans trombone-laden tracks, all brought together by Sowers’ vocals, which can go from a soft, gentle croon to a cannon boom.
Sowers got her early musical education from her dad, a music lover.
“I just listened to what I liked,” she says. “I liked the freedom of music.”
That freedom for Sowers originally took the shape of traveling around the country in her teen years, and is what inspired her band’s name.
As Davina and the Vagabonds, a five-piece band with Sowers on piano and vocals, tour the country, she is also riding the ups and downs of her music.
“Knowing that people are taking what we’re doing seriously makes me happy,” Sowers says. “I’m not an endorphin-running musician. It feels good to have people bounce that energy back to you.”
They play the Monterey Jazz Festival for the third time this Saturday, and make their second appearance on the main stage.
“Being part of that history was on the bucket list. I never thought I could call my mom and say I played Monterey Jazz,” Sowers says. “I was beautifully overwhelmed.”
Sowers says it’s that same sense of excitement drives her performances.
“It’s always a bit easier and looser the second time. It’s more road-tested,” she says. “I want new listeners to wiggle and be happy and excited.”
This year, they’ll play selections from their two studio records and recent live record, released in March 2016, which include many originals of swing-era dance tunes, like “Shake That Thing,” as well as Etta James’ emotionally moving ballad “I’d Rather Go Blind.”
While Sowers says she is still learning, she’s happy with the progression of The Vagabonds’ music – a comfortable place traveling through the world using instruments and voice.
“I just want to keep doing us.”
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