She’s what Stevie Ray Vaughan would look like without a soul patch and the Texasflooder Manny Gammage hat. That was a certain likeness – and the first immediate good sign. She could have a wailing match on par with Caleb Followill, and her cracking pitchy snarling voice would surely win. If she wasn’t wearing little heels, she could probably jump around a little more, but dirty blues woman Erika Wennerstrom packs a punch and holds no mercy.

The Heartless Bastards took the stage and needless to say, the shimmery blue sequined bandstand disappeared and the crowd was slammed into what could have been Townes Van Zandt’s Hole in the Wall in Austin, TX, Wennerstrom’s hometown. Her little physique was no foolin’, and her strapping bronchial tubes tore through all the lonely ones out there saluting their Shiner Bocks dry. The Heartless Bastards are a bare-bones band, whose sound may possibly be as timeless as the music genre they’ve landed in. Keep an eye out, they’ve got a hot US tour rolling through, as well as a short bit in Europe, then back for some big shows at ACL Music Festival, Bonnaroo in Nashville, and SF Outside Lands.

Erika Wennerstom of The Heartless Bastards - photo: Anna Webber