Popville Masquerade Ball- A Night with Jean Saint Lazarus, Kate Cosentino and Kelley Cole!

Last Quarter Moon- Capricorn to Aquarius

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Welcome Ghouls, Demons and Fellow Wyrd Ones! I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to Popville Music’s “Masquerade Ball- A Night with Jean Saint Lazarus, Kate Cosentino and Kelley Cole!” It was a lovely Spring Nashville Evening. I had never been to the East Room before. Or not knowingly. I have driven by The Cobra a thousand times. I have stopped by the Alternative and Occult Shop “Hail” a handful of times. This can go to show, how directionally challenged I am. Or how often I Passenger Princess my way through Life at the hands of my Beloved. Or maybe it highlights what a nightmare Gallatin Ave truly manifests to be. I will digress. As I finally secured a free (rare) parking spot, I began my Final Candle Vendor Evening and my First Rock Oracle Drop in with Popville Music. How wonderful it was to reconnect with Bellarocha Emporium (ETSY), the other art vendor at the event. I had assumed that it was them that had connected Nikki Forbes of Popville Music to my Wyrd Curations account. I am not entirely sure about how the connection came to be. What I do know? The Connection was Divine and I was ecstatic to dive into the Local Pop Scene here in Nashville.

For those who may be aware, Pop is the other side of my Polarity. The Duality I embrace. If you’ve followed along, over my years as a Social Media-lite Artist I have been “@Metal_Princess_” and “@DeathMetal_Barbie_. Highlighting the social cred I deserve as a Complex Alien who discovers child-like joy in various mediums of Art as she navigates Earth Realm. Pop Music is often snubbed. Horrifically devalued and underrated as a medium of Creative Genius. I have paid my homage to Britney Spears and Prince. However, we should also include Marina, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Halsey, & Madonna. There are countless others, which would go up for debate. To be frank, I am not quite as strict about my Metal, Punk and Grunge, as I am my Pop Music. Holding such Medium to an incredibly high standard, that doesn’t quite fit the mold of what you may expect. Especially once we dive into the world that is Pop Music from my perspective. I wouldn’t include Beyonce or Taylor Swift.

I could go on and on about my dismay for certain artists. As well as I could rant and rave about my satisfaction. I suppose when it comes to Pop Music it has to hit one of two of these conditions. 1). It must be Fun. 2.) It must Speak to me. Two truly subjective conditions. However, I would argue that the foundations of Pop Music are Fun, Deep Emotion within the FULL Spectrum of Humanity and Pop-Culture reference. There are aspects of Pop Music that hit the Pop-Culture reference, yet, I personally do not find it fun and perhaps I do not relate to the expression of emotion. The story does not relate nor compute. With that, I find Pop-Music one of the most difficult genres to judge. Perhaps that is why I have a specific taste for it, where with other genres I seem to be less persnickety. Regardless my Number One Standard for Music resides in my own Universal Law. The Law that “It Shall Be Felt.” With that being established, I had an incredible time at the Masquerade. I am finally growing up in this life, and to my surprise? I wasn’t the youngest soul floating around. Neither was I the eldest. I found there to be a beautiful spectrum of ages and genders present and ready to Soak up the Sun of Popville Fun.

We Opened up the event with Kelley Cole! An edgy Aquarius Rising honoring her Unique Aesthetic. Expressing the complex emotions within the Dark Side of her Virgo Moon under the Essence of her Libra Sun. Her stage presence, and crowd engagement, was quite charming. Kelly has been writing and performing her whole life, and that experience was noticeable as she warmed up the crowd for the evening. Even convincing us all to sit on the floor of a Grimy concert hall in our Ball Gowns. Her sound Hit the Mark on Pop-Cultural references, Fun and Emotional Depth. Leaving me feeling transformed with my favorite song of her evening,“Magick Trick.” All the while leaving the venue comforted knowing that we will all find one another again, lovingly accepted, in “Weird Heaven.” The Kelley Cole Project began with her song “25” back in 2024. Another blessing from the Muses during our Saturn in Pisces transit. I adore the awakening and courage of various young artists who followed along to the internal intuition of the collective energies. Saturn in Pisces cleared away the delusions that veiled us from our passions. To break free and debut a song at that time? Pure Magick at Work.

Kelley stated that this song, “felt like a step into my authenticity and led me to really dive into myartistry as a feelings focused writer and performer.” Kelley describes her music style as “rock music for big feelings.” She loves to write deeply personal songs. Particularly about things like insecurity, loneliness, family struggles, self discovery and reclaiming your inner child. Topics that don’t typically live within the rock genre. At least not obviously. Rock can be the surface level tone of simple emotions. Not quite nose diving into the depths. Rock and Rock/Pop can easily focus on catchy hooks and generalized statements. Kelley Cole wants to channel her straight into the hearts of those who relate to how she feels. Her act of service to the collective. To create art from a heart who has been there. Kelley is most certainly a unique, contradicting blend of self expression, charm and feeling. Some of her inspiring artists are Florence and the Machine, Orla Gartland, Lorde, and all the 2000s pop punk icons. Undeniable inspirations that are easily identified when witnessing her creative performance. For those in search of songs that tickle the Inner Child Pink, and to those who refuse to give up the Twilight Fandom, please take a chance on our lovely Ms. Kelley Cole. I find that there is an entire community of young gals waiting on the next generation of music they can relate to! Kelley will be releasing music all year long as inspiration hits! She is planning another house show pool party in June (Date TBD). Follow her socials to stay up to date.

After a brief intermission, we all gathered back towards the front of the stage for our Scorpionic
Jester, Kate Cosentino! Our young, wild, and free Animal Muppet. Grabbing the stage by the Balls with her Riot Girl, Paramore, and Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday Garage Band vibes. Kate’s performance was exuberantly amusing. I spent more time laughing and dancing at my table than anything else during her performance. Iconically covering SpongeBob’s “I Ripped my Pants.” As well as, rebelling against our modern culture with songs mocking Podcast Bros and criticizing AI. Kate Cosentino is truly an Edgy Voice of her Class. A genuine Joy. Granting the same seriously unserious and unseriously seriousness of Bimbo-Core and Kesha, with Fall Out Boy and Pop-Punk instrumentals. Kate is most certainly not an artist you can pin point. She is simply one you must witness to even begin to understand. Her comedic genius shines brightly within her music. Teaching us all valuable lessons of the Human Shadow and the Cosmic Joke that is our Existence.

Just as I struggled to genre Kate’s music, she expressed the same struggle. Stating that “Genre is so weird for me.” Kate grew up playing jazz guitar, and listen to “pretty much every genre under the sun.” She channels her music into blends of clever wordplay with whatever interesting riff she can muster. Recently, her music has fallen into the alternative pop community, with some influence from hyper-pop. Kate expresses that she has taken a lot of inspiration from artists like Cheekface, Cake, Weezer and Bo Burnham lyrically. As well as musically from Dora Jar, Sara Barielles and Remi Wolf.

Kate Cosentino’s music career started the second she was introduced to Guitar Hero 3 in the 1st grade. Well, that’s when she started playing guitar and taking voice lessons at least. Kate grew up in Kansas City. Often listening to jazz and alternative rock. However she uncovered her love for songwriting when she discovered Regina Spektor. Kate’s first professional gig was writing an original song for American Girl Doll. Which then led her to studying songwriting and music at Belmont University here in Nashville. Since graduating, Kate has been pursuing artistry full time. She has an EP released currently and will be working on releasing a new album in August. She was present on Season 23 of The Voice with Team Niall Horan, touring most of the US. Her music has always been full of wit, dad jokes, and jazzy guitar riffs. Kate’s closet has always been filled with every color and pattern you can think of, and if that doesn’t accurately paint a picture of essence? I am not sure what else will convince you. Kate is currently working on her first full length album that will be a perfect mix of tongue in cheek lyrics and 2000s Nostalgia. “Weirdly Normal” is not quite available for pre-save. However, follow her socials and Spotify for more updates on New Music from our lovely, and quirky, Kate Cosentino!

As we concluded our evening, we had one final performance from the Fabulous Jean Saint Lazarus. A Venusian Goddess sent to us all as a gift from Libra Heaven. Her voice radiates a classic tune. Giving a vibe of Sandy from Greece. A classic show tunes and piano bar babe. Her theatrical talent could not be denied. Whether JSL decides to perform at Broadway, or your local Jazz Club, she is another musical act you will not want to miss. After witnessing her perform her first song, I found JSL to feel into a mixture of Greece and Madonna. A fun combination of classic romance, vibrant 80s vivacity and modern dance pop. I felt her presence to be Soulful, Playful, Dreamy and Purely Feminine. She is the Life force you crave at a Karaoke Bar and the Sunshine you desire amongst a Sea of Flowers. Correlating to the mood set by the Masquerade theme. JSL and Popville Music wanted the masquerade to be a tremendously fun, cohesive vision that suits all of the artists in this show, but in their own different (unique) ways. In true Libra/Venusian fashion JSL loves a gothic, dark, yet theatrical and romantic aesthetic. A testament within her stage presence and musical performance. Jean Saint Lazarus is a piano pop artist from Scranton, PA. She started singing as a kid, and began playing piano in third grade.

She was passionately inspired by artists like Carole King and Elton John whose “thing” was playing piano and singing. Piano became a natural part of JSL’s sound. Depending on herself to be her accompanist for any gig or opportunity she could to get through her high school years. Her artist name, Jean Saint Lazarus stems from her real name/family. “Jean” was JSL’s Grandmother. It’s been reported that Grandma Jean was always a “stunning female icon” within her family. Therefore, I would bet that incorporating her name into the Artist’s name, is one of the sincerest forms of Ancestral flattery. As well, JSL’s last name is Lazar. The name comes from the tale of Saint Lazarus. A Biblical Saint that JSL has always found to be fascinating. An omen one can tap into when listening to healing frequency of the lovely Jean Saint Lazarus. If you are a fan of Piano pop/ rock, or the musical acts of Lady Gaga, Elton John, ABBA, and/or Fleetwood Mac, you will find a common thread of joy within the music crafted by Jean Saint Lazarus. A fun Theatrical, often piano driven melody, woven together with a significant amount of harmonies. Take a Leap of Faith on Pop Music. Let’s Refine our Modern Sound with some Class from the Past and Bring Back the Piano Bar Diva.

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Popville Music has another Burstin Event April 17th at Faekers Theater to Celebrate the Album Release of Betty Reed! (Stay Tuned for a Rock Oracle Article on the Release). I am excited to document the underground Pop scene. I am thrilled to share with you all the full spectrum of Music that lurks within the streets of Nashville. May we all find our Inner Child Joy within our Creative Paths. May we stay true the Wyrd Side. And May I see you all in Weird (Wyrd?) Heaven. Live Deliciously. Love Authentically. And Always, Stay Wyrd.