Upstairs, in the speakeasy like pad of Divinity Voice, off of MacArthur Boulevard, on Maple Street, the film by Alexa Hall, and vocal performances by Lalin St. Juste, and Stringer Bell rocked out Friday Night at the ShePeople's. The ShePeople's is a showcase of women artists held in the Diamond District of East Oakland, hosted by singer songwriter Valerie Troutt of DivinityVoice music & arts. This showcase features extraordinary female vocalists, instrumentalists, poets, dancers, film makers, and visual artists. And even though Eryka Badu was playing in Oakland that night, there was a charmingly enthusiastic turnout at Divinity. I, unfortunately wasn't able to make the film, but got there just in time to score a comfy chair dead center to the stage. I also wished I had more time before hand to purchase some sweet potato pie and ginger beer that was being served in another room before the show.

The venue hosted an intimate and supportive audience for its performers. DivinityVoice hosts a number of other events, as well as vocal workshops and jam sessions on a weekly basis. For folks interested in developing their vocal talents, or interested in learning stage performance techniques, DivinityVoice provides the unique opportunity to explore and fine tune your talent and performing skills. Recently opening its doors in 2009, Divinity has just begun its journey as one of Oakland's non-alcholic performing arts venues, cultivating the work of local performing artists.

Lalin St. Juste, serenaded us solo with her guitar, and then later with instrumental tracks of her music. It felt a bit like we were in a Karaoke showcase, but I tried harder to focus on the music that was new to my ears. Lalin has been working on her own music since her teens and the 25 year old graduate student says her musical influences are Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday, Eryka Badu and "a lot of folks that just exude joy in their music." Her own music definitely expresses that inspiring message of living life out loud, and being true to ones self. It was like watching a Billie Holidayish mermaid engage us in her spell of a mix of reggae/folk/soul.

Emily McLean, graduate of the New School of Music in New York, performed with her band, Stringer Belle, not to confused with the punk band, Stringer Bell(no e). The group has been playing together for 3 months now, and are on their way to gelling nicely. Brother of Emily, Matt McLean shares composing and songwriting duties with his sis, giving us a great mix of Soul & Indie skaa rock. She seemed a little on the shy/nervous side at first, but maybe that was just feeling the fragility of the tune, soft and slow. However, once the band got going, and she warmed up a bit, the voice of a goddess was let loose, and I wanted to jump out of my seat and yell "Aleluja!" Instead "Like THAT!" is what actually came out of my mouth.

Both singers expressed a youthful, jazzy and soulful vibe, whose stylings engaged the crowd with their breathy Billy Holiday/Adele/Goapele vocalizing. Musically interesting, I found myself pleasantly surprised at the creativity of their compositions and the grounding energy of their performance, making me excited to get their CDs, and look for more music to come. I have a feeling like we're going to be hearing a lot more, at least I hope, from these two talented young women.