There are a great many charming women on Cape Cod, but Zoë Lewis is really one of the truly charming-est. Her voice is playful and liquid and effortless and lovely, plus she’s a major loon. She’s British, and my wife says she’s an old soul, which I can see -she seems more like a person from the thirties than one from now, and an actual entertainer at that!
I’ve adored her for years; she’s a walking birthday party, and so odd a person that sometimes she even lets us play with her -and here’s the evidence, from a benefit for WOMR last August in P’town, transcribed here by the right honourable Fred Boak, a song called “Hell But Swell” featuring help from the Philharmonette (in this case, Berke McKelvey and Mark Chenevert da horns, myself on bass and vox, and Keith “The Flaw” Spring on keys .
She has put out many fine albums over the years, all available at zoelewis.com; my favorite song is “Squid” (off the album “Fishbone Wishbone Funny Bone”), which is perhaps an even better song than “This Was a Real Nice Clambake” -and that’s by fucking Rodgers and Hammerstein! Her latest, “Small is Tremendous”, has a cool song called “Havana Moon”, that I hope to impair again one of these days, Zoë willing.