Begonia at Schubas Tavern

Thumbnail & Social Media Photo: Maya Fuhr

There was a reason why I religiously listened to my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist each week and it was because of artists like Begonia. I never knew what new song or musician was going to waltz into my life, completely dismantling everything for me. One of Begonia’s songs came up three years ago and she has stuck with me ever since. 

Begonia (real name Alexa Dirks) released her first album Fear, this past September, and it was a debut that was glowing and firing on all cylinders— an absolute cataclysmic burst. 

She performed at Schubas Tavern last weekend, and it was weirdly enough my first time there—and I was angry about it—because that venue was absolutely perfect. It was cozy in the way that it felt like everyone in the room were friends, even though I didn’t know a single face. It was so small and intimate, but I still felt like I had enough room to breathe and be comfortable— I couldn’t wait to go back. 

Begonia came out wearing a floor-length shimmery silver dress, her hair adorned with a stream of bobby pins on either side of her head like a DIY crown. She quickly launched into her first song; her voice instantly immaculate with the strength of iron, cementing her place as royalty. I noticed that she had some flower tattoos on her forearm which matched her floral name. 

Her third song was the one Spotify showed me: “Juniper”. The crowd instantly cheered and reacted to it, maybe they too discovered it a similar way. Everyone knew every single beat and Begonia looked astonished, fumbling over a few of the words. “Did my mom hire all of you?” she asked during the break in lyrics before the chorus hit. She laughed, and then the entire room sang every word even louder. All of those times I had listened to it over those years had paid off in order to see her sheer surprise. 

One thing I loved was watching how expressive her hands were. This wasn’t that atypical for performers, especially those that didn’t play instruments. But, hers almost felt choreographed (I knew they weren’t) but it didn’t feel like a nervous thing. She did a lot of jazz hands and added emphasis to the words she sang. They added a playfulness to the performance. There weren’t any elaborate displays behind her, and the lights were consistently blue and pink behind her. I loved it, and maybe since it was such a small venue and I was so close, I was made much more aware of them, but I just felt like I got to know so much of her personality through her hands.

I felt like the easy comparison to make of her voice (and honestly looks-wise) was Adele, and this wasn’t inaccurate, but they were very different. I think that this might unfortunately be a roadblock for her because they have very similar vibes, even though their songs feel different. Coming from a massive Adele fan, we had more than enough room for more than one singer/songwriter with a giant voice who wrote depressing songs. 

“You’re all very nice. You know I’m Canadian and we’re not supposed to be nice,” she laughed, killing some time before songs. 

She told incredible stories through her songs and what I loved was that there were so many personal details woven in, she gave us some background in her prefaces but not much. For example, before her song “Hot Dog Stand”, she explained that she tried to write a funny song because she thought it would be super easy and chose the subject of hot dogs. Instead, it turned out to be a massively heartbreaking song linked to some of her memories eating hot dogs after some drunken nights during a dark period of her life. It turned out to be an incredibly shattering song, so it was strange to hear it have such completely different roots.

She didn’t sing my favorite song, but I wasn’t really that surprised by this since it was performed almost entirely acapella on the album. “Dead Flowers” was definitely a stand-out track on Fear and displayed her beautiful lyricism. 

She has the potential to be the next big thing, I could see her blowing up, with some of the singles off her album. Begonia’s voice was so vast, it could easily go in a hundred different directions at a second’s notice. She deserved sold-out crowds and bigger venues. She talked of her love of her hometown of Winnipeg, and she was moderately well-known in Canada, but she should be a household name all over the world. 

Begonia was so humble, and it was instantly apparent that this was what she was supposed to do for the rest of her life. Her voice and confidence were plainly included in her DNA. Her voice felt nostalgic, almost as if it was discovered in a treasure chest buried in the ocean, but it also felt new and important to pop music now, it held ingredients we’ve been lacking. She’s long been my little secret, but I’m ready for more to know and love this botanical artist.