As Denise La Grassa enters the mixing and mastering stages of Sundown Rising - the follow-up to 2023's ‘The Flame,’ it's evident this 9-song album moves her further into what she calls “my take on the blues.” That gumbo of blues, roots, rock, and soul inspirations is obvious in her songwriting. But one can also hear a jazz background augmenting a sound unlike anything else in the roots-rock universe today.
That vibe and her powerful voice have captured the attention of Chicagoans at venues including Epiphany Center for the Arts, Hard Rock Café, Montrose Saloon, and Phyllis’ Musical Inn, among others, as well as blues haunts in Milwaukee and downstate Illinois.