Cassandra Lewis appeared on the World Cafe Live stage in a black dress and cowboy boots, hair coiffed like a ‘40s starlet. With Gianni Paci by her side on guitar, she cast the Free at Noon audience under a spell of dazzling riffs and belts, complete with lyrics that pack a punch.

The Portland singer-songwriter began her set leading the audience through a deep breath. “Too Much,” the first track on her newest LP. The mic’s echo is just gorgeous and everything about her next song, “I Surrender,” is just SO POWERFUL?!? “Some Kind of Love” was written from the perspective of a “toxic and narcissistic” ex-lover. Though she may never get an apology for what happened, Lewis says, the least she can do is get some royalties. It’s classically country in structure, lyrics filled with beautiful false promises while Lewis wails into the mic.

Her sophomore album, Lost in a Dream, was released July 12 via Elektra Entertainment. True to the title, the music has that dramatic, dreamy storytelling aspect that she’s likened to a country version of Stephen Sanchez or Laufey. Think Dorothy Gale meets Joni Mitchell meets Marty Robbins, with a sprinkle of musical theater thrown in. Though Lost in a Dream must be heard regardless of format, it would be ideal on vinyl on a front porch in the middle of nowhere with a glass of whiskey on the rocks, staring out into the starry sky.

Though all of Lost in a Dream is loosely based on The Wizard of Oz (1939), “Emerald City” is the most direct result of that. Though she’d hoped for a fairy tale, she ended up with a man behind the curtain. But though her lyrics are fantastical, Lewis’ onstage presence is down to earth. She ended the song with a “womp-womp-wahhh,” mimicking wiping sweat off her brow in the stage light.

“Beautiful” was from her debut album Always, All Ways and is her personal anthem, chronicling all the things she’s gone through and the obstacles she’s had to face, “about the journey and the hustle and the ways we find ourselves.” Lewis has been through it. Raised in a military family, she’s currently residing in Nashville – her 32nd city. She’s lived in a number of situations, even becoming homeless for a time after a wildfire took her farm. She built a community in the back of a Subaru in the Bay Area and eventually got to where she is today. “Beautiful” is hauntingly gorgeous, showcasing Lewis’ strength. At the final line, “my momma said that life would be just beautiful. Oh and it is, isn’t it?,” there’s an audible, knowing mmm-hmm from the audience.

Despite it all, Cassandra Lewis continues to dream. Stepping away from the microphone, solo onstage, she gathered the audience around close to the stage for an a capella rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” There’s something powerful in the way Lewis sings this well-known song. Something that tells you that she’ll find what she’s looking for.

Cassandra Lewis will be playing Brooklyn Bowl on September 6. Tickets and more information available on XPN’s Concert Calendar. Order Lost in a Dream here and check out the set list below.

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