It’s a night of smooth, sultry music and pretty female vocalists at Annabell’s on Thursday. In a basement normally filled to the brim with metalheads, one group and two solo artists keep it mellow for the small but receptive crowd. First up, Shivering Timbers deliver nursery-rhyme songs to the beat of a drum, electric guitar, stand-up bass and banjo. It all started for them when husband and wife combo Sarah and Jayson Benn had a baby. “We were always sitting around playing nursery rhymes for her,” Sarah said. That turned around when they played a few of their songs for Sarah’s long-time friend Dan Auerbach at his 30th birthday party. After hearing them, Auerbach was amazed and quickly got them into the studio, recording what would be their first album. Now the Shivering Timbers are starting to share their music with the rest of the world, cute little folksy ditties geared toward their daughter but enjoyable to everyone. Sometimes it’s a little dark and spacey, sometimes it’s more of a poppy lullably, but it’s always easy on the ears. Next up is Plug-In Reindeer, a name that sounds like it could be plural, but it isn’t. It’s the moniker for a cute redhead named Kelly who plays the ukelele and sings with a soft, folk-pop voice. Her songs are short and sweet and very original, introducing a kazoo in one called “Dead Bird.” Last up is headliner Rachel Roberts, a local singer whose career shows no sign of slowing down. She opened for Chrissie Hynde, among other big names, at the Obama Rally in 2008, after an interesting night in which she met the ex-Pretender. After recieving a call from her manager inviting her to come meet Hynde in Akron, Roberts was flustered. Even moreso after Hynde looked her up and down and asked her to open for her at the rally. So flustered in fact, that she locked her keys in her car immediately afterward. As Hynde came rambling down the street and saw Roberts in a bind, she asked her to come spend the night at her place. “I was like, hell yeah!” Roberts says. Hynde was tired, but Roberts couldn’t help but ask a thousand questions. Hynde tried to chill her out by playing some Tim Buckley, but eventually, Roberts says, “she told me to go to bed.” Her set is a culmination of her original songs from her two solo albums, “Ripe n’ Juicy” and the more recent “Lightning Loves the Kite.” She’s also promoting her new album by her band, Rachel’s Secret Stache. Her voice is powerful yet delicate as she pierces the high notes while keeping rhythm on electric guitar. Her sweet and passionate playing, coupled with her sense of humor and zest for living make this artist one to keep an eye on. Photos by Marissa Hoover