MusicCityNashville.net: Friday the 13th and Lady Luck Meet on a Rooftop in Nashville

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Friday the 13th and Lady Luck Meet on a Rooftop in Nashville

by Rich and Laura Lynch

In May, Friday the 13th 2022 turned out to be lucky with a show featuring four of Nashville's breakout female artists who took the stage at BentoLiving Chestnut Hill. The concert was considered a Music Biz conference closing event. Billed as "Luck Be A Lady" and hosted by the Richlynn Group the lineup included Maggie Baugh, Liv Charette, Lauren Mascitti and Alyssa Bonagura. Luck would also have it that the band hired to back the ladies were spot on learning the songs on the fly but that's Music City for you.

Friday the 13th and Lady Luck Meet on a Rooftop in Nashville

The million dollar view from the new BentoLiving Chestnut Hill.

First up was Maggie Baugh. Originally from Florida, this multi-instrumentalist at one time considered attending the Julliard School in NYC to focus on classical music but that was before she discovered country music. The shift to the genre has paid off - Maggie has reached one million plus streams on Spotify with her viral hit "Think About Me" and her single "Drinking to the Broken Hearts" has gotten the attention of PEOPLE and CMT. Baugh opened her set with the snappy "Seein' Somebody" followed by "Think About Me" demonstrating why it is a popular tune on the Internet and her next catchy song was penned with the idea of a man covering it but still worked well with Maggie presenting the proposal.

Liv Charette opened with the bold "Bulletproof" flowing into the well-executed "Good As Gone" going into a daunting piece about the devil being in the details. Her music was a blend of adult contemporary, dance and pop. Liv has powerful pipes paired with a potent live presentation proving that she has star potential. So, it is no wonder that Billboard hailed her as "big voiced" and Rolling Stone declared her a "powerhouse vocalist". This Canadian-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter at one time had Olympic dreams but when she discovered she could sing Liv changed direction and is now striving for a different type of gold.

The band and the backdrop were both big winners on Friday.

Lauren Mascitti has been a musician for years. By age 12 she had released four solo records and moved to Branson, Missouri, where she balanced her schoolwork with nightly performances alongside gospel singer (and original Oak Ridge Boy) Gary McSpadden. A few years later she was on American Idol but did not make it as far as folks expected. Still, she continued to pursue music without AI's help and when she moved to Nashville she somehow found time to become a registered nurse.

At the showcase, Mascitti had more of a traditional country sound. She opened with the compelling "Everybody Said Amen" a new tune that is coming out next week. Lauren mentioned that the next song was inspired by her Nana who raised her and who was in attendance and getting recognized from her own appearance on the popular Fox star-making talent show. The tribute was packed with the eloquent prose found in "God Made A Woman". This was followed by a sad, sad more traditional country song asking the question had their "Love Grown Cold".

Clockwise from Top Left: Lauren Mascitti, Liv Charette, Alyssa Bonagura and Maggie Baugh.

Alyssa Bonagura was raised in a musical family. At a young age she spent a lot of time on a tour bus and was given the opportunity to record a duet with Kenny Rogers at the ripe old age of ten. In addition to an impressive body of solo work Alyssa has ongoing writing gigs with Aerosmith frontman Steve Tyler, Jessie James Decker and more. She is also a multi-instrumentalist and producer. Bonagura's sound blurs boundaries between Brit-pop, country and rock. At the start of her set, Alyssa mentioned having a major cut with the country hit "Circles" - a strong opener that flew into the winning "New Wings" a song of transformation going into the lively "Love You Like That". Alyssa had a commanding presence paired with strong song craft.

All four artists had incredible stories to share. We were fortunate to be at "Luck Be A Lady" on the 13th to hear music from this powerful line-up at a cool Nashville venue. BentoLiving Chestnut Hill offers a panoramic view of Downtown from its private roof top bar which is ideal for pop up events and musical showcases.