Twin Cities vocalist PaviElle to perform neighborhood park concert
Update: This event has been canceled due to the threat of severe weather.
Twin Cities composer and vocalist PaviElle — whose music has been hailed as a “soulful amalgam of R&B, gospel, and jazz” — will headline the fifth installment of the 2022 forWARD Neighborhood Park Concert Series.
The show will take place this Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. at Judd Park on the west side of Rochester. Indie group Maria and the Coins will open for PaviElle.
Born in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood, PaviElle French has been dazzling audiences since her first performance at just five years old.
"As a kid, I just knew this was calling and my purpose and what it was I wanted to do with my life,” French says of pursuing a career in the arts.
During her formative years, she took up the piano, vocal training, and even formal acting training at St. Paul’s Penumbra Theatre. She also remained deeply connected to her community, a historically-Black neighborhood that had been ripped apart by the construction of the I-94 freeway.
In doing so, French was introduced to artists and activists that would influence her artistic direction — and give her the courage to speak up about her own experiences, as she did in the 2021 release of SOVEREIGN.
French described the album as a way of processing the events of the past couple of years, including the murder of George Floyd.
In one song, “Rights,” French writes: “I’m not excited / And dancing in the street / Cause I still have the same problems of yesterday / Tomorrow, right in front of me / Ain’t a damn thing changed / Same bag different grocery.”
"I do not omit anything, even the personal things that I am going through; or the personal trials or tribulations,” French said in a phone interview ahead of the show. “I put that out there in my artistry to help others identify with the experience, and let them know that they are not alone."
French adds that she views music as a catalyst for change — and not just in our own life, but for generations to follow. To that end, she continues to carve out time from performing to mentor local youth. She describes it as “paying it forward,” a nod to the mentors who helped show her the way.
"I really wanted to give the time to the younger population, whether it was elementary, middle school, high school, or young adult, to help them express how they feel about everything that had happened over the past two years,” said French. “And then, what do they see for the future? What does freedom mean to them? And how do we get there?"
You can listen to SOVEREIGN on Bandcamp and other streaming services.
