In 25 years of running RenegadeRadio.Net, I have seen a lot of talent come through Dallas. Early years were nothing but support of the local indie scene. True “renegades”, you see. The decades have morphed us into the overall media site you see today that still has a focus on the locals. Today, I am having a blast watching Little Queen grow up.
Many now may be going “Little Queen”? In fact, judging by their Instagram and Facebook likes, MANY are going “Little Queen”? Well, that won’t last much longer as show by show, the bands following grows. For those asking, Little Queen is new young tribute band consisting of sisters, Grace and Emilia Figueroa along with Jose Aviles on guitar and banjo; Ashe Blanchard on keyboards and guitar, Gywn Osborne on bass and Noah Smith on drums.
Now, let’s back up a bit and see how this show started, shall we?
January 6th, 2024; at Lava Cantina, one of my favorite bands to shoot, Members Only (Totally 80s now) was playing and of course, I was there, camera in hand. I was having a great time doing what i do (or did at the time) and then a guest singer comes on stage and everything shifted.
In those 25 years I was talking about earlier, you see a lot. A lot of good, a lot of bad, and a lot of in between. There are moments in these times, however, and these moments stand out.
Grace took the stage that night, 17 at the time, and simply owned it. Vocals, stage presence, and just a comfort level she likely should not have had were all obvious to me.
Grace Figueroa – Members Only Jan 2024
It didn’t take me long to decide I wanted to watch this young lady’s career grow. In a short time, the changes have been phenomenal. Maybe one day we can do a more in-depth story about her later.
Anyway, as I started following her career, it was soon after I was introduced to her younger sister, Emilia, who at 15 won 2nd place in the Dallas International Guitar Festival this year. (2025 for all you people coming here years from now doing research).
Little Queen is their band with the members above who are quite frankly, are taking Dallas by storm. Their first show was back in March of this year (2025) and I was wanting to expand from photography to video, so I recruited some friends to help me, and we caught their first show at The Local Shacks at Austin Ranch in the Dallas area.
Since we posted that video, many things have happened. First, I got a lot better at video. Still have no idea if the guy picked up his food order. Far more importantly is the progression of the band. In some ways, the video isn’t fair cause they’re all just starting and this is their first show. But in just a few months, I can already see progression out of EVERY SINGLE BAND MEMBER.
As well as the band itself. Ashe is taking on vocals next, honestly, I have no idea who will be playing lead OR keyboards at any given time because it does shift, Jose’s guitar playing gets stronger every show as he comes into his own comfort level. Gwen gets props for basslines in several bass heavy songs and Noah KILLED IT on drums last night, esp for one particular song.
To which song? Heh, would you believe, Rush, Tom Sawyer?
It was here you can’t help but notice a complete vocal style shift Grace does to do one HELL of an impersonation of Geddy Lee. In 25 years of listening to local musicians, her power and range I can only compare to Julie Lange who was with Superstring /The Bright back in the Renegade heyday of local music.
The Deep Cuts don’t just stay with tracks like Mistral Wind and Love Alive from their namesake Heart roots, they extend into the heart of rock and roll we all love and grew up with. As a complete band, they nail it. Time is taken to focus on all members during the show With Gwen, Ashe and Jose taking center stage to show off various guitar skills of their own during the show.
They are a complete band, ready to go with music we all love you just don’t hear other bands do.
And lord they do it well.
This past weekend, I treated myself to back to back Little Queen shows, and both nights had nothing but phones up and people recording all night long. After the last “last” song (the audience wouldn’t let them stop), the band got a standing ovation at the Bartonville Store. Btw – quick shoutout to the Bartonville Store, great venue, love the seating (reserve it ahead of time people, the system works!), and sound and food were amazing.
I’ve been watching this band from day 1, the scene for 25 years. All I can say is local Dallas area venues, I’d get in touch with their management quick. Their calendar is going to get full.
Oh, they don’t have to be in Dallas – we’ll be videoing their show at Ragnars in San Marcus Oct, 4th. Come on out!
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