Cemetery Shorts 2022

After the avalanche of critical acclaim for her 2021 Black Americana album Gild The Black Lily, Harlem based songwriter, musician and producer Queen Esther – described as “a Black Lucinda Williams” (Vanity Fair) and “the unknown Queen of Americana” (Feedback) – will release Rona, the fifth release on her imprint EL Recordings, later this summer. Written while in lockdown during the pandemic, the 7 song EP includes variations on jazz infused twang-drenched alt-Americana, augmented by an interesting take on two cover songs: “Lost Without Your Love” by the 70s supergroup Bread and a visceral, no holds barred vocal + guitar jazz version of the rock band Queen’s iconic anthem “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

When she released her first album Talkin’ Fishbowl Blues, Queen Esther recontextualized the term Black Americana to describe her sound, “melding roots. pop and R&B in a way that Lucinda Williams, Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow never could on their best days” (Amplifier). With the 2014 release The Other Side, “she unveils her obvious affection for and mastery of country music” (Paste), moving further towards a reclamation driven soundscape that gave birth to 2021’s Gild The Black Lily.

Queen Esther’s creative output musically is the culmination of several critical Southern elements, not the least of which are years of recording and touring internationally as frontwoman for several projects with her mentor, harmolodic guitar icon James “Blood” Ulmer, including a stint in his seminal band Odyssey. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia and rooted in Charleston, South Carolina’s culturally rich and enigmatic Lowcountry, a region with African traditions and Black folkways that span centuries and continue to inform her work, she embraces a deep and abiding love of lost American history along with her wide-ranging and ever changing sonic influences, as she leans heavily on the bluing of the note.

A member of SAG/AFTRA and Actors Equity as well as the Dramatist's Guild and the Recording Academy, Queen Esther’s work in New York City as a vocalist, lyricist, songwriter, actor, solo performer, playwright and librettist has led to creative collaborations in neo-vaudeville, alt-theater, various alt-rock configurations, (neo) swing bands, trip-hop DJs, spoken word performances, jazz combos, jam bands, various blues configurations, original Off-Broadway plays and musicals, experimental music/art noise and performance art.