the zenruption staff loves talented musicians and is committed to promoting small and amazing acts. We invite other musicians, anywhere in the country, that wish to publicize themselves to contact us.
Jaz Fagan is a musician here in our home of Boise, Idaho that we strongly recommend checking out.
Jaz Fagan began performing as a lead vocalist in the Pocatello area in the early 90's. She started out performing classic rock and blues cover tunes with a 5 piece group called Ballistic Blue. They toured all over southern Idaho and after performing together for 3 years the members went their own ways. Jaz moved back to the Boise area in the late 90's and released her solo album "Sublime Evolution" in 2001 with an eclectic mix of originals, Celtic and cover tunes.
She then joined the group "The HIckman Street Players" as lead vocalist and some rhythm guitar. This is when she met her husband Mike Fagan. The two would later split off and form their own project called EZ Street which sometimes ran as a 4 piece band and sometimes a duo. They performed classic rock and blues tunes all over the Treasure Valley with some notable events such as the Cherry Festival in Emmett in 2004.
EZ Street, comprising the main members of Jaz & Mike Fagan, would perform 2 years in a row at The Snake River Correctional Institute performing concerts for the maximum and minimum inmates. Jaz was the first female musician to perform in such an unusual venue. In 2012, Jaz took the duo and changed the facet of the group dynamics. She began going back to her families roots from Wales and began performing Celtic music from Ireland and Wales, but more notably she began singing folk songs from her families native home of Cowbridge, Glamorganshire, Wales that are sung in Welsh.
In 2012 the duo became CYMRY, pronounced KAMREE, which is a Welsh word that means the Welsh people and they took the flag of Wales as their band logo. Doug Slagle came on board in 2013 playing mandolin, fiddle, banjo, penny whistle, and harp. Jaz and Doug performed as CYMRY for a little over a year all over the Treasure Valley and up into McCall at The Yacht Club. The staple of their music was Celtic with a pop and rock mix, folk and original songs.
Currently, CYMRY is the duo of Jaz & Mike Fagan. They perform all over Idaho, including their 3rd return to The Stanley Mountain Mamma Festival in July of 2016. This will also be their 8th return to the Caldwell Indian Creek Festival in September of 2016. They continue to perform at many festivals and other fun events all over the Treasure Valley as well as venues such as Schnitzel Garten, Kind Cuisine Cafe, and Gelato Cafe. In 2015 they released their CD "The Celtic Collection and Other Stories" which is available from them for $10. It has 14 songs that are Celtic, originals and a mix of covers by bands such as Styx, Fleetwood Mac and more.
This year is particularly exciting for Jaz as she is going on a SoLo tour that includes local venues and venues all over south and central Idaho. It is the first year she has felt comfortable enough in hr own skin to perform as a solo musician playing guitar and singing. "It's a scary and exciting endeavor, you are making yourself so vulnerable as an artist when you put it all out there alone. When you have always had this great group of musicians next to you and behind you, suddenly you are out there alone, naked. It's frightening"
"Being a musician in the Boise area is beautiful! There are so many talented musicians here. I recently had Jack Hale sit in with me. He is going to be filling in when I am out of town or doing other local venues on my SoLo tour. He is so incredibly accomplished as a guitar player and musician. A truly nicer guy you could never meet."
"I am very fortunate this year also because I have been given this wonderful opportunity to perform at the Trinity Mission Care Center in Nampa. My mother currently resides there and will do so until she passes from this world. It gives us a beautiful opportunity to bond as a mother and daughter that we never really had when she was much healthier."
The SoLo tour kicks off Saturday, March 12th with her first gig being at The Bridge in Pocatello for Brewfest followed by a performance at The Riverboat in Hagerman. The next week she is at The Mountainview Barn in Jerome performing a St. Patrick's Day dinner on March 17ththat is going to be fun and exciting followed by a performance on Saturday, March 19th at Portneuf Valley Brewing in Pocatello.
Please follow Jaz on Facebook and Reverb Nation:
https://www.facebook.com/jazcymry
https://www.facebook.com/celticcymry/
https://www.reverbnation.com/cymry9
Here is a list of the current booking dates for CYMRY and Jaz performing SoLo through the end of May for more dates visit their web page:
Fri 3/11 CYMRY at Schnitzel Garten in Eagle 6-9 pm
Sat 3/12 Jaz SoLo The Bridge in Pocatello for Brewfest 3-6
Sun 3/13 Jaz SoLo The Riverboat in Hagerman 5-8
Wed 3/16 Jaz SoLo Schnitzel Garten in Eagle 5-8
Thu 3/17 Mountain View Barn in Jerome for St. Patrick's Day Dinner and Music 5:30-8:30
Sat 3/19 Jaz SoLo Portneuf Valley Brewing in Pocatello 8:30-10:30
Sat 3/23 Jaz SoLo Schnitzel Garten in Eagle 5-8
Wed 3/30 Jaz SoLo Gelato Cafe in Meridian 6-9
Throughout April
Jaz Solo on Wednesdays from 5-8 at Schnitzel Garten and CYMRY on Friday and Saturday from 6-9
4/4 Jaz SoLo at Trinity Mission Care Center 2-3 pm
4/7 Jaz SoLo at Kind Cuisine Cafe in Boise 7-9
More dates for April Pending