Sway along to the Kaliopi & The Blues Messengers’ reflective, empowering blues ballad ‘How the Caged Bird Sings’!

Eclectic blues guitarist, vocalist & songwriter Kaliopi Stavropoulos is the frontwoman for Kaliopi & The Blues Messengers, an award-winning Australian blues and soul ensemble.

Their latest single ‘How the Caged Bird Sings’ proves their mettle and soul without a doubt. Its a respectful tribute to the deep impact of Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, carrying her indomitable spirit into an evocative blues rock song.

We open to classic blues rock arrangements, sombre and reflective; Kaliopi’s sublime guitar captivates. As does she herself with her voice singing, ‘Maya showed me, how the caged bird sings…… showed me how….. how to give everything….’

She sings with an honest admiration for everything she learned from the visionary, ever-resilient Maya. And a tone of resignation, in a way, realizing that the battles Maya fought are the same today.

Her voice is tender and piercingly emotional, each word ringing with emotion and meaning. As the track progresses, her narration takes different tones of sombre reflection and remembrance for the life & lessons learned.

Musically, it’s a sublime piece of blues music. The steady arrangements hold the tempo and rhythm so well, while the organ and Kaliopi’s lead guitar is downright spellbinding.

That solo starting at 2:40 mark is one of the most compelling, emotional and meaningful one we’ve heard in awhile. The guitar, oh so gently, seems to weep for every pain Maya experienced and battle she eventually won and wrote about in her prolific autobiographical works.

‘How the Caged Bird Sings’ is a profoundly important piece of music that will resonate with anyone who still believes and stands by the right way to live and love, in harmony and fairness to all peoples, irrespective of their caste, creed, colour or sex. An liberating, sublime blues track that would even make the great woman Maya gush with joy!

Stream ‘Kaliopi & The Blues Messengers – How the Caged Bird Sings’ on Spotify here: