Woman Sets Piano Keys On Fire During Performance, Crowd Is Mesmerized

Dec 11, 2021 by apost team

One of the most fun styles of piano music is definitely the boogie-woogie. It is defined as a heavily percussive style of blues piano that features the player’s right hand playing riffs while their left hand repeats a driving pattern of eighth notes. The result is a swinging and upbeat sound that is sure to get anyone on their feet.

The piano style began in the Southwestern United States and was originally called fast Western style or Western rolling blues. Boogie-woogie has been played as far back as the 1920s but gained mainstream popularity in the 1930s. There have been many talented artists who have performed the boogie-woogie style, but one of the greats is Doña Oxford. She played at the Riverfront Blues Festival in 2013 and a video of the performance has received over 11 million views on YouTube. 

In the video, Oxford starts out by telling the audience she is going to play some boogie-woogie, and they seem to be loving it. There are cheers as Oxford wails on the keys, playing faster than what seems possible for one person. She never falters, and in fact, seems to be completely connected to her instrument. The band that is backing her up is made up of guitarist Colin Ryan, drummer Bill Brianstorm, bass player Johnny Piano and Robin and Amanda as the backup dancers.

There is one point in the video where Oxford begins to play with her hand behind her back to show off the unique style, and the crowd is mesmerized. Oxford ended up giving a great show and an excellent lesson in what boogie-woogie is and that it is still alive to this day. Read on to learn more about this performance.

During her boogie-woogie lesson, Oxford started by asking the crowd: “Do you want to know why we call it the boogie? Do you want to know why we call it the boogie-woogie?” Everyone cheered in response, eager to learn something from the master.

Oxford then broke down what each hand was doing while she was playing and said she would tie one hand behind her back so the audience could hear the difference. She explained, “Well you see, it’s because we’re playing the ‘boogie’ on the left hand and we’re playing the ‘woogie’ on the right hand. So when you put them together that’s the boogie-woogie.”

After making her point, Oxford added, “The boogie ain’t nothing without the — woogie!” 

On Oxford’s website, it says that she has recorded four of her own albums and toured more than 22 countries and 48 states. On her biography page, you can also see messages from some of the many talented artists that Oxford has worked with over the years. Gary U.S. Bonds called her "A two-fisted keyboard dynamo!" While Albert Lee said, she is "Such a great performer!"

Don Peake even called Oxford "The new Goddess of Soul."

Even the viewers on Youtube had great things to say about Oxford’s performance. One person commented, “WOW! There aren't many accomplished boogie-woogie female players and Dona is setting the bar VERY high! I liked her narrative explaining what she was doing! GO DONA!”

Another user added, “One of my favorite styles of music and she lays it down with gritty perfection, razor-sharp skill and flawless showmanship. To whoever posted this; thank you a million times and more!”

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Do you enjoy this style of piano music? What do you think of Oxford’s performance? Let us know, and feel free to send this on to your friends and loved ones.