After several mild days, a chill had returned to the evening air in Newark, Ohio last night as fans arrived for the Midland Theatre’s famed Stage Door Cabaret series, this time featuring Grammy nominated artist, Leslie Mendelson.  Mendelson’s enchanting songs quickly warmed the capacity crowd, her voice and guitar a love letter, drawing those who have never heard her music close, and those who have even closer.

Although she has enchanted audiences of all sizes with her powerful lyrics, musicianship, and relatable storytelling, an intimate setting like that of the Midland’s, allowed Mendelson to interact closely with the crowd drawing them in to her music in ways that might be missed in a larger setting.  It was clear from the back and forth banter the engagement was a treat for both artist and audience.

Mendelson covered a lot of ground across her discography, including several from her 2024 release, After The Party, Love and Murder’s, “Jericho” and the title song from, If You Can’t Say Anything Nice.  The 90-minute set also included a few surprise covers, most notably, “Blue Bayou,” the traditional ballad she sang as a duet with The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir at his Marin County studio during his Weir Here sessions of a decade back. 

Hailing from New York, Mendelson commented on her love of travel delighting the audience with stories of her trips to Nebraska (“Honestly, it’s not for everyone.”) and Europe during her tour with Roger Daltry (“Who?” she asked, with her hand to her ear). 

It was clear as the night progressed, those in attendance had stumbled upon something truly terrific.  If the tales of collaboration with Weir and Daltry weren’t enough, Mendelson shared that her latest album touts production credit of none other than the great Peter Asher (James Taylor, Linda Randstad) and that the band pulled together for the record comprised of studio greats Waddy Wachtel, Leland Skylar, and Jim Keltner.  Don’t be fooled however, Mendelson seems as awed by these facts as the audience, appreciative of the experiences and humbled by the opportunities. 

Her stop in Newark was one of only a few in this part of the country.  The next couple of months will find her skipping around the map from East to West so be sure to find the venue closest to where you’ll be and grab a ticket quick.  You won’t be disappointed