Isn’t this music too dreamy? Dark? Romantic? Mysterious? Or perhaps…classic? Join Rockwell Theater for an evening of music that will take you away to another realm: the retro noir of Savoir Faire, the cinematic ballads of Zena Lynn Edward, and the atmospheric experience of something between the “macabre and mundane.” This isn’t a David Lynch tribute, but rather, a Lynchian experience.
“A stunning blend of existentialism and retro noir” (Pop Matters). Savoir Faire is a seasoned performer in the New England area, with awards nominations from Best Jazz Performer and Best Singer Songwriter to Best Post Punk Act to her name. Her blend of genres has led to her opening for acts such as Marissa Nadler, M Ward, and Devotchka. Her debut album, Hopeless Nostalgic, was released in January 2025.
“Dusky, darkly romantic rock and noir pop.” Parlour Bells emerged in 2010 with their debut EP Heart Beatings, premiering on 100.7FM WZLX’s Boston Emissions. In 2012, the band took the stage at the 33rd Rock & Roll Rumble and later joined the historic farewell concert for beloved alternative station 101.7FM WFNX at the Paradise Rock Club. The band’s 2013 EP Thank God for the Night drew praise from Boston music editor Michael Marotta as “a bedtime story for adults who never go to bed,” and features a standout saxophone performance by Dana Colley of Morphine on “You Don’t Wear That Dress, The Dress Wears You.” That same year, Parlour Bells earned a Boston Music Awards nomination for Video of the Year with “Bachelor Hours,” followed in 2014 by a nomination for Live Artist of the Year. In 2015, Parlour Bells opened for Culture Club’s reunited original lineup at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion. Their single “Never Let Em Hold Ya Back,” from their first full-length Waylaid in the Melée, was later featured in the 2017 release of Rock Band 4. Parlour Bells returned in 2024 with the EP To Be Or Not To Behave, hailed by The Boston Globe as “a future cult classic of the local rock scene.”
“As if Albert Camus and Jim Morrison had a talk over some cheap wine”. A local dive bar princess. Spending her time along the East coast, Zena Lynn Edward is often compared to the likes of Mazzy Star, Jim Morrison, Peggy Lee, and Stevie Nicks. Inspired by the femme fatale western ballades of the past, her noir melodies and old school Americana writing encapsulates the feeling of the southern motels and dim cigarette lit jazz lounges that she grew up in.
Too Dreamy: Rockwell Theater, Somerville MA. January 18, 2026. 7:00 PM. $15-$20.
With a voice straight out of the jazz age, Savoir Faire brings the modern existential crisis into a realm of retro-noir.
Born to an American mother and an Iranian father, Savoir Faire was absorbing the influences of everything from classic 60s rock to Persian pop at an early age. It was during her pre-teen years that she was inspired by the 90s wave of female songwriters to pick up the guitar. Eventually, she studied jazz guitar in college, where she would discover the duets of and . The artistry of both musicians would greatly influence Savoir Faire’s approach to both guitar and voice. She would spend years performing as a lounge singer and jazz guitarist before adding the last few ingredients that would form the aesthetic of Savoir Faire: lush and syrupy vocals, biting lyricism, and searing guitar parts that float between the genres of jazz, rock, and chamber pop. The result is a Lynchian rumination on the present in the debut album Hopeless Nostalgic, combining wistful nostalgia and modern rage to answer the question “What if a torch singer had a Riot Grrl heart?”
