Tesheva hit the stage Saturday at Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que in Starkville. Though many Starkville natives have heard the southern psychedelic funk group jam before, Saturday’s performance was a new experience for my music-loving ears.
I can happily say I was not disappointed.
If you were to look up this eccentric group on Facebook, the first thing you see  is this blurb about the band, “Tesheva: the southern psychedelic, funk-rock, blues-fusion, space experience from Starkville, MS.”
This sentence is certainly an apt description for the unique performers. Once the band took the stage, I knew based off their paisley, striped and quilt patterned shirts, their music was going to have style.
The group of four opened their set with several minutes of full-bodied jams which satiated all instrumental biases. In other words, you got a large serving of jazz-popping bass from bassist Matt Dunaway, as well as sliding electric distortion and rhythm from guitarists Mike McCoy and Caleb Hutson on a foundation of solid percussion work from Vaughan Brenner.
I did not know what to expect until after the little taste of sound. In their playing, it was possible to hear distinct sounds of jazz from rhythmic high-hat cymbals, while also picking up a harder rock influence from the lead guitar as well as some blues-style vocals. 
Typically, bands stick to one or two genres for their sound because stability sells well. However, trying to fix music into a circular or square mold takes away from the artistry of the music.
Tesheva is an excellent example of a group who knows how to break out of the mold.
Though their dream would be to play music for a living, the band is still enjoying playing in the small-town scene.
Dunaway said his favorite part of being in a band is the performance itself and seeing people appreciate the performance.
The band said as far as the crowd was concerned, there were very few people last night they did not know personally, and several of those people said, for whatever reason, the show was particularly special.
With this being said, the key to being a good band is being able to make the audience feel, be affected by and connect with the music coming through the speakers.
Tesheva is a talented group of musicians and has the potential to stretch far beyond the “Cotton District gutter,” referenced in one of their unreleased songs on their upcoming album.
The band is planning to go beyond their normal stomping grounds, and are booked for a couple of performances in Tuscaloosa during the month of November.
However, for those who want to hear the group play at home, Tesheva will perform with Universal Sigh at Rick’s before finals on Dec. 1.
If you enjoy listening to quality, non-autotuned musicians, check them out when they perform at Rick’s and listen to their EP, which is available online.