Listening to Abbie Thomas deliver her musical compositions on the Wild Rose Moon Radio Hour is like traveling between heaven and earth. One moment, her voice explores a soulful and sometimes sultry timbre as she sinks into her lower register, delivering her heartfelt lyrics in rhythm and blues style ala Motown. The next, she sails into a crisp, dreamy, smooth soprano that floats like a crystalline snowflake hovering in our ears. The subject matter of her songs is intensely personal, and she fearlessly explores her songs' subjects with the strongest of commitments to her craft.
Her first song on the program, Till My Last Breath, feels like it dropped right out of the 70s–swinging the infectious chorus with bandmate Caitlin Faust delivering cheerful harmony, Simon Kauffman Hurst adding a sweet electric organ swing, and Issac Fisher delivering a delightful bottom end on bass. The song is about having to say goodbye to a loved one. Still, its upbeat style celebrates life's journey and the gratitude for the experience of a relationship about to disappear.
All of the hugs, all of the kisses, all the times that you’ve listened;
all of the fights, all of the make-ups, all of the times you’ve picked up my pieces;
when you’re gone, I hope I don’t regret, some things I should have said;
so I’m telling you now, I love you,
till my last breath.
Abbie describes her next song, Mid July, as a “love letter to her daughter.” Lyrically, the song reflects on her deepening relationship with her daughter on a rainy July day.
Oh, little giggles are coming from
The little puddles you are jumping on
And I get a little sad
Because time's flown by since you've been here
You've made my melancholy disappear
Just by teaching me how to spend my time
(and later)
In mid-July
What a sweet delight
Like your tiny hand in mine
Oh, soon, it will pass by
So for now
I'll close my eyes and listen to life.
The song functions almost as a sung nursery rhyme, the images inside conjuring a children’s picture book. The light orchestration—touches by the organ and fiddle combined with the steady pulse of the base—carries the idea of a child teaching the parent and functions like a soothing balm for the adult psyche.
After the break, harpist Debra Sawyer, from LaPorte, Indiana, shares a beautiful Celtic slap jig, Butterfly. Before the piece, she reminds the audience that this is the time of the year when the Monarch butterflies migrate to South America. Debra, who plays her instrument occasionally in hospitals for therapeutic effect, renders this piece in fine form and fills the room with metaphysical magic. You can almost see butterflies appear as she plucks the enchanting tune.
The “Shoot the Moon” game show follows, featuring two charming employees of the Culver Academy, Zachary Gipson, Director of Theatrical Design and Production, and Julie Barger, Director of Parent Relations. They compete to a draw and collaborate with the musicians on stage while answering questions about Abbie Thomas and her band. The questions concern these titles and subject matters: Lullaby Sigh (Mamas & Papas), Minted Clinted (Opening for Clint Black), Jumpin’ JuhJosie Phats (Josie Music Awards/Nashville), Sampling Sap Science (Goshen College traditions), and Saint Louie Youeeeee! (St. Louis University).
When the show continues, Abbie introduces a touching song about her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, Crystal Ball. It’s her most melancholy piece–intensely honest and remarkably performed with a stripped-down piano opening – only introducing full instrumentation just before the last chorus.
Crystal ball you held out
On the hard truth
That grim reaper’s comin’
Before the grave can welcome you
Can’t hold on to love as long as you want
Bodies are time bombs waiting to blow
Crystal ball you held out
She’s still Breathing, but it’s time to let go
Of true loves fortune
Before her last song, another R&B classic, I’m Not Gonna Lie, Abbie delivers a beautiful statement about her connection to the tremendous empathic and connective gift songwriting brings to her world:
I moved a lot as a kid. My dad is a minister, and I was born in California. We lived all over the Midwest, jumping from church to church. Growing up that way, life gets a little bit lonely, and you learn to make friends very quickly. But those friendships usually don’t get very deep, and so
it's taken me a long time to figure out that even though a lot of us aren’t really good friends and a lot of us don’t talk to each other about what we’re going through, we’re not meant to be alone in the world. Its ironic to me that we’re all going through a lot of the same things; we just don’t talk about it . . . and the one thing I love about music is that it gets people in a room and it gets us together and we get to share in the experience . . . I just love live music – especially after COVID. Everyone was so lonely, and everyone missed live music so badly. More important than a sold-out show is just being able to connect with other humans. It helps you feel like you’re not alone. That’s why I love listening to live music and why I listen to albums. If I can hear someone else say something I’m going through, I feel less alone. As of this review, Abbie’s last song on the program, I’m Not Gonna Lie, has already reached #3 on the iTunes R&B/Soul chart. We’ll go out on part of her refrain. It’s no surprise that it is a statement of commitment and connection:
When it’s all too much,
Don’t run away,
That’s the time to be stubborn,
Hold onto your lover,
Keep a promise and stay.
And stay, we all will, as we watch this rising Indiana star continue to chart her path in the R&B world of heartfelt emotions, making all those beautiful human relationships along the way. Enjoy!
George Schricker