Mindy Smith at SubCulture

Mindy Smith was born in 1972 on Long Island, New York, and was adopted at birth by a pastor and his wife. She developed a passion for music and began singing at an early age. After her mother's death from cancer in 1991, Smith moved to Cincinnati for two years and then to Knoxville, Tennessee and, in 1998, she moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter. Smith gained popularity in 2003 when she covered "Jolene" on a Dolly Parton tribute album, Just Because I'm a Woman. Parton later added backing vocals to a new mix of the song for Smith's 2004 debut album, One Moment More. Smith has recorded five albums, the most recent of which was 2012’s self-titled album, and has just released a five-song holiday EP, Snowed In.

Old Long Island friends and family poured into SubCulture tonight and gave Smith a warm welcome home. Onstage, however, Smith accompanied herself simply, with only an acoustic guitar. The unplugged, no-frills mode stripped her songs back to their original manufacturer settings. No more country twang, no more retro Americana roots, her songs had to stand naked on their own. Thanks to her gutsy vocal delivery, she was able to pull it off. Smith came across as a reflective, candid, and perhaps mood-driven songwriter. The evening’s highlights included songs from her first album; despite the connotations of the title, “Come to Jesus” was not necessarily an evangelical song, but more a song of comfort, and “One Moment More” spoke tenderly of the aftermath of the death of a loved one. The one song she sang from her new Christmas EP, an original song called “Tomorrow Is Christmas Day,” was appropriately jovial. The performance was fine, but hopefully her next performance will be with a band.

Visit Mindy Smith at www.mindysmithmusic.com.