Mimi Naja Hosts Pickin’ Lounge Aboard Jam Cruise 17: Full Show Audio

Mimi Naja of Fruition hosted the Pickin’ Lounge aboard Jam Cruise 17 on January 17. This week’s Full Show Friday selection, which fittingly comes on International Women’s Day features an audience recording of Naja’s guest-filled performance.

January’s Jam Cruise was the first to feature Pickin’ Lounge sets. The idea was to have a more bluegrass-oriented version of the Jam Room or Jazz Lounge in which musicians on the boat from various acts joined the host in an anything goes atmosphere. Mimi Naja hosted the debut installment of the Pickin’ Lounge in the Norweigan Jade’s Bliss Lounge, while Vince Herman led the other Pickin’ Lounge set three nights later. Mimi recruited some of her band mates to serve as a house band of sorts.

Guests during the two-hour set included Vince Herman on guitar and vocals, accordion player Gump, keyboardist and vocalist Zach Gill, guitarist and vocalist Lebo (Dan Lebowitz), vocalists Megan Letts and Erica Falls, guitarist and vocalist Willy Tea Taylor, fiddler Lyndsey Pruett and guitarist and vocalist Taylor Kingman. The action started with Fruition performing J.J. Cale’s “Call Me The Breeze” and Pruett lending a hand of The Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See.”

Mimi showed off her vocal prowess as well as multi-instrumental talents throughout the performance. A standout moment came when Naja delivered the Bob Dylan classic “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” The classic rock covers kept coming with Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck In The Middle With You” and Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” Herman then emerged to join in on the Mimi-penned “Spliff.”

Vince stuck around and brought up his former Salmon Heads band mate Gump for a wild rendition of Canned Heat’s “Going Up The Country.” Zach and Lebo joined in at this point for a portion of the set that included Willie Dixon’s “I Just Wanna Make You To You,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and a bluegrass-tinged version of Gill’s “Handy Man.” A special moment took place next on “Pink Night.” Naja announced a “lady takeover” and teamed with Erica Falls and Megan Letts for a spot-on rendition of Janelle Monáe’s “Pynk” and En Vogue’s 1996 hit “Don’t Let Go.” Willy Tea Taylor then emerged to lead his own “Deep Down In The Water.” Mimi Naja bookended the night with another J.J. Cale, as she said farewell by performing “Fate Of A Fool.” Listen to an audience recording of the set captured by Erin Lunders:

Setlist

Set: Call Me The Breeze, Can’t You See, A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, Stuck In The Middle With You, Feel Like Makin’ Love, Spliff, Going Up The Country, I Just Want To Make Love To You, For What It’s Worth, Handy Man, Pynk, Don’t Let Go, Deep Down In The Water, Fate Of A Fool