Theresa Blue

Soul Work Woman makes career out of singing locally
Charles Passy Palm Beach Post music writer
When Theresa Lindstrom sings, the words take her home. Home as in the stretch of Virginia countryside where she was born and raised. Home as in the suburban South Florida landscape where she brought up her three children. Home as in the blue-collar bars and family restaurants where she has plied and perfected her trade for more then 20 years.

Lindstrom sings songs about life’s little joys and hard lessons -- a car that managed to outlast years of neglect and a child who couldn’t survive a much crueler sort of abuse, a relationship blossoming into a romance and a marriage gone bad.

She sings in a throaty voice that crosses the line between blues and bluegrass. She sings for everyday people in everyday places. And she may be the greatest singer whose name you can’t quite place. At least for now.

Not that you probably haven’t stumbled across Lindstrom at some point. If you’ve been in any club, juke joint, pretty much any place in Palm Beach county that has a mike stand, chances are she has sung to you in the distance as you sucked down another draft.

Lindstrom is a working artist in the truest sense, going about her business quietly and effectively. But while all this hard work has made it possible for the thrice-divorced Lindstrom to raise her 3 kids- it’s also resulted in a career of near anonymity.

Lindstrom didn’t have the luxury of dreaming big. She had to find the small gigs so she could pay the rent. Of course “hitting it big” is a relative term in Lindstrom’s case. She specializes in a pan-roots style, borrowing as much from the Mississippi Delta as the Appalachian Mountains. But there is always the sense with Lindstrom that success doesn’t have to be defined in big terms. There’s a work ethic that drives her artistry and keeps her honest. “You got to put food on the table