Beachland's 13th Anniversary Weekend: Jessica Lea Mayfield/Shivering Timbers/Charles Hill Jr.
When: Fri., March 1, 8:30 p.m. 2013
Initially, Kent singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield started performing at an age when most kids think stardom is completely unattainable. When she was 8, she hit the road with her family's band, One Way Rider, a bluegrass ensemble that played throughout the region. Mayfield eventually asked her brother David (he’s also a noted regional talent) to teach her how to play guitar, and she soon started writing her own original songs. She was all of 11 years old. Recording under the moniker "Chittlin," Mayfield quickly started to make a name for herself as she played small clubs and coffeehouses throughout Northeast Ohio. Her brother produced her first EP, 2006's White Lies, and even though she reportedly only released a total of 100 copies of the album, it caught the attention of Black Keys singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach, who signed on to produce Mayfield's major-label debut, 2008's With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, an album he recorded at his home studio. That album and its follow-up, 2011’s Tell Me, suggest the starlet can hold her own up against alt-country chanteuses such as Neko Case or Emmylou Harris. (Jeff Niesel)