Colorado’s blues duo Hundred Pound Housecat packs plenty of punch. Their sound is a foot-stomping mix of original blues and soulful Americana that feels like it is simultaneously from another time and perfect for this one.

Melly Frances’ vocals are incomparable. She sounds like a beautiful, eerie Bessie Smith 78 one minute, before letting out a ragged scream that would make Leon Russel blush, the next. She does all of this while holding down the rhythm with a mix of bass, washboard and stomp box. Keke Lee punctuates Housecat’s music with a mix of slide and piedmont blues guitar, reminiscent of Tampa Red, Memphis Minnie and Johnny Shines.

But rest assured, Hundred Pound Housecat is not content replicating music of the past. Their thoughtful and incisive original songs marshal their influences to offer a modern take on the foundations of American music and beyond.

At age 3, Jen started her DJ career in the basement, on a Fisher Price record player, before an audience of dolls. She spent countless hours listening to funk, disco, soul, jazz, R&B, and pop music through her childhood and went on to study music from elementary through high school. After moving to Austin, the “ live music capital”, she fell hard for dancing in dive bars to gritty blues, jazz, and swing music. She started DJing for a live audience in college when she ran a small swing dance club on campus and started teaching classes. Jen lives in Denver now, and has returned to DJing for a live audience, spinning many of the tunes she discovered in the basement. She’s also teaching blues at the local level, drawing on her vast musical knowledge to help dancers find grounding, a voice, and a better connection with the music.