Gracie Persson

What does Lizabeth Yandel's Mona Lisa smile signify? Find out at Lestat's West, October 6.

Lizabeth Yandel had a long road to San Diego: Chicago, where the singer/songwriter grew up singing with church choirs and “my gigantic Mexican-Irish family”; New Orleans, where she sang on the street, and where a wandering old woman once counseled her, “You save the world with that voice, babygirl.” She plays, sings, and writes poetry and prose. Her new single “This Song” premiered September 10th on the web.

What lead you to move to San Diego?

I moved about a year ago, because I got into a graduate program [at San Diego State University] for creative writing, which I actually deferred until this year. So I just started that.

Which neighborhood do you call home?

Right now I live in UTC, but I think of North Park as home actually, because I lived there for most of my time in San Diego.

Which SD musicians do you work with?

Since I haven’t been here very long, I haven’t worked with a ton with other musicians yet, although I love to collaborate. I worked a little bit with a local band called Obtuse Goose, who are all great musicians, and I discovered them because I met a local sax player/producer named Jesse Audelo who thought our styles would work together.

I also worked on a country western project called Phoenix Asteroid for a while with a musician named Daniel Gordon, which was fun and not my usual style. Right now I’m just focusing on getting my sound out there and making good music, and hopefully that will reach the right people that want to collaborate on a project.

Who are your main influences as a singer?

The first person that comes to mind is Erykah Badu, because she has such a relaxed and soulful sound and I’ve basically played out everything she’s ever made. Lauryn Hill is a main influence as well, especially the unplugged stuff where she’s playing guitar.

Do you have any gigs in or around SD scheduled soon?

I have a couple coming up. I’ll be playing at Lestat’s West on October 6 for my friend Andy Gallagher’s album release show, and then on November 1 at the Merrow with Verdell Smith of Soul Ablaze Music.