On a freezing cold night in New Orleans, a small crowd gathered in the aptly named Siberia to listen to songwriter Julie Odell sing some of her original compositions.

The set began with Odell quietly finger picking on her hollow-bodied guitar. Soon thereafter, the room got quiet enough to hear the cogs of the cigarette machine and the bartender’s scurrying feet.

Photo by Anne Marie Cagle

Her first song, she explained, she wrote on commission.

“It was nice to write something for someone else, rather than just myself,” she said shyly.

Even given their low-key atmosphere, Julie Odell’s performances are completely electrifying.

Much like Karen Dalton or Buffy Sainte-Marie, Odell has a unique and almost childlike voice. She geniusly contorts it, breaking into staccato rhythms and then holding high notes impossibly long, all within the same song.

It’s been a few months since Julie Odell left New Orleans for South Carolina.

“I’m learning how to dress for cold weather,” she said between songs, “I wear a lot of wool. It gets itchy.”

Before leaving, Odell hosted a Monday night song-share in the back room of Molly’s on the Market. Those late Monday nights became like a second home to many of the next generation of great New Orleans songwriters, often bringing in musicians that perform primarily on Royal St.

Ultimately, it was a space for easy collaborations, drunken workshops, and the formation of makeshift communities.

Beyond the Monday night song-shares, Odell made her own backyard into a community rallying point by co-founding a speakeasy called The Pepper Lantern. She regularly returns to New Orleans to play or cook at the Pepper Lantern’s monthly events.

Odell finished off her set with the only cover of the night, Tom Waits’ “Chocolate Jesus.”

Halfway through, she broke into a rendition of “You Are My Sunshine,” and impeccably wove the two songs together.

Julie Odell’s music is like a secret recipe or a great bar next to your house that you’ve only just discovered. Most everyone who hears her sing knows they’ve discovered something special and can’t imagine a time before they knew she existed.

You can learn more about Julie Odell and stream her music at https://soundcloud.com/julieodell.