What do you say about a woman who has collaborated with the Minnesota Orchestra and Lin Manuel Miranda, writes for the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic Traveler, has published a memoir, and has served as a guest host for the NPR show “Science Friday?”
You say: Come see this amazing performer rap, harmonize, offer up some performance poetry and put on a show unlike any other.
Dessa, who grew up a self-described science and word nerd, said in a recent telephone interview all her seemingly disparate interests come down to a passion for language.
“I’ve loved language since I was a kid,” she said. “I follow language like a duckling following its mother.”
Her gift for the written word first meant participating in poetry slams, where she connected with hip hop artists and was eventually invited to become a member of the Minneapolis-based Doomtree Collective. She has toured solo since 2010, playing venues from small bars to blockbuster events such as Lollapalooza and Riot Fest. All this while keeping up work as a podcast host and writer.
While such a varied plate may seem “whimsically far-reaching,” according to Dessa, “it’s also for rent-paying,” she said with a laugh, acknowledging the grit it takes to make a living as a musician.
“I’ve had to do everything from figuring out how to use Microsoft, to designing t-shirts for my merch table,” she said. “So while I do have a lot of curiosity and many interests, some of it comes down to making a living.”
Though her singing voice is fine now, Dessa’s next New York Times Magazine piece, with an expected release date this week, is about how she dealt with temporarily losing her voice and her main means of communication and how fragile an instrument the human voice can be.
“I learned a lot writing this piece myself,” she said.
While you may think a poet-musician starts with lyrics when she creates a new song, she said more often when working on a project she’s first sent a beat, which she plays on repeat on her headphones, then waits for lyrical inspiration, which may be found in her idea list or it could be a metaphor she wrote down on a scrap of paper while waiting in line at the grocery store.
“Even though my specialty is language I most often start with a musical concept and write around that,” she said.
Dessa said she is excited to be coming to Big Top, a venue she known about for many years.
She will bring her band, including Aviva Jaye and Joshua Holmgren and is excited to have her friends and collaborators Aby Wolf and Eric Mayson opening for her.
“It will be a many-faceted mix,” she said. “Epic ballads, three-and four-part harmonies, rap bangers and some performance poetry exploring loss, love and our continual yearning to connect,” she said and paused, laughing. “And our continual failure to do so.”
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