Jamil Ragland Photo
Ashley Hamel performs at Winter Blues in the Old State House Food Court.
Ashley Hamel
State House Square Food Court
Hartford
January 9, 2025
I’ve got a case of the Winter Blues. That was a good thing.
The Winter Blues is a free, twice-weekly live music series taking place on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12 – 1 p.m. inside the State House Square food court in downtown Hartford. It features artists from across Connecticut in genres ranging from blues and folk to R&B and soul.
Winter Blues kicked off this week. I was fortunate enough to make it downtown to see Ashley Hamel perform.
I used to have a tradition where I would listen to U2’s “New Year’s Day” on Jan. 1, but I’ve forgotten about it in recent years. Hamel had me covered. She kicked off her set with a great cover of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
Afterward, she went straight into one of my favorite songs of all time, “Linger” by The Cranberries.
A fun part of watching artists cover famous songs is seeing how their own individual voice and creativity transform them into something intimate and personal. For example, I’ve heard TLC’s mega hit “Waterfalls” hundreds of times. I’d never heard it played on the ukulele.
Hamel’s voice has a silky quality that contrasted nicely with the memories of the songs in my head. Oftentimes, folk and acoustic singers have a rawness that adds edge to their performances. Hamel sounded like quicksilver, smoothing out the roughness in a melodic style that brought new energy to old classics.
Hamel is not only a gifted singer’ she’s also an entertaining performer. She interspersed singing with talking to the crowd and telling us about herself and her music. No matter where she was in the song, she thanked every person who contributed to her tip jar. Combined with her dancing about as she sang, it was a joyous performance that had everyone in the food court tapping along.
Hamel chose her set straight from my own playlist. I know I’ve already said this, but she played another of my all time favorites, “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer.”
This is the first review I’ve done where I have more videos to include than I have the space for. Her hour-long performance had a folksy, ethereal feel to it from her haunting original song “Bring Him Home,” about sons sent off to war, to her performance of Radiohead’s “High and Dry,” which she dedicated to the sad boys. She effortlessly hit the high note that so many of us mask behind Thom Yorke’s vocals when we’re singing along.
Originally from Meriden, Hamel is a Nutmegger through and through, having gone to UConn for school as well. These days she’s based out of Jakarta, Indonesia, and is headed back home this Sunday. So seeing her perform live was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She closed with “We Belong,” telling the crowd that Pat Benetar hadn’t quite caught on in Southeast Asia yet. If Hamel and her incredible voice have anything to say about it, that won’t be a problem for much longer.
NEXT
Winter Blues continues next Wednesday at the Old State House Food Court.
Jamil heads to Black Eyed Sally’s for more blues.