Sweet Lizzy Project

Part of the Orion Free Concert Series.

In just a few years, Cuban-born, Nashville-based quartet Sweet Lizzy Project has gone from its members never having been in an arena, to mesmerizing an audience of 20,000 people when opening for their idols, Heart and Joan Jett. Along the way, the anthemic rock band earned a prime performance broadcast for PBS’s Havana Time Machine, an artist profile on NPR’s “Weekend Edition”, and a cover story in the Miami Herald.

SLP defected to the U.S. from Cuba in late 2017, just as the border doors were set to close once again. Prior to relocating to Music City, Sweet Lizzy Project became the “it band” around Havana City clubs. SLP also won several music prizes, including two nominations for Cuba’s closest equivalent of a Grammy. However, everything changed for the band when they were spotlighted on Havana Time Machine, which also featured traditional Cuban artists and iconic American roots-rockers, The Mavericks. During the making of the documentary, The Mavericks’ founder and lead singer, Raul Malo, became inspired by Sweet Lizzy’s music and story and signed SLP to his band’s record company.

Sweet Lizzy Project plays electrifying big stage pop-rock with a modern sheen and classic rock heart. Diaz is a lightning bolt of a front woman; her lyrics are boldly vulnerable, and her vocals range from seductive soft tones to rafter-rattling high tones. Her creative partner is world class engineer/producer, songwriter, background vocalist, and dazzling lead guitarist Miguel Comas. Diaz and Comas are joined in Sweet Lizzy Project by talented guitarist and bass player, Wilfredo Gatell, and skilled drummer Angel Luis Millet.

SLP has three albums: Heaven (2015), Technicolor (2020) and Pirate Radio / Radio Pirata (2022). The band has performed in the US, coast to coast, and has opened shows for acts such as Heart, Joan Jett, Johnny Swim, The Mavericks, Raul Malo, Jamey Johnson, Buckcherry, Billy Strings, Silvana Estrada and Carlos Varela.

The release of their latest album, Pirate Radio / Radio Pirata, received immediate DSP support, with key playlist adds across New Release, Rock & Latin playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as airplay from multiple terrestrial stations and The Latin Alternative, widely syndicated among NPR affiliates. Their Fall Pirate Radio Tour included concerts in Nashville, Miami, Atlanta, New York, Washington DC, Austin, Houston, and festivals like Live on the Green (Nashville, TN), RiverBend (Chattanooga, TN) and Mile Of Music (Appleton, WI).

“Lisset Díaz, of the Sweet Lizzy Project, was definitely an anomaly in Cuba, land of salsa, timba and son. But when she got her first guitar as a teenager, Díaz said she was drawn to American rock.”-Miami Herald

“Hotstar: Sweet Lizzy Project – American Music By Way Of Cuba… Sweet Lizzy Project sounds like raucous American indie rock. Like The Mavs, SLP positively rocks… The band owes as much to influences such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Florence + The Machine and Alanis Morrisette as it does more traditional Cuban artists they grew up with like Benny Moré or Celia Cruz.” – Pollstar

“Being discovered by Raul Malo — the lead singer and founder of The Mavericks — would be a cool enough launching point for most bands, but Sweet Lizzy Project is not looking to have its story defined by its starting point. The five-piece from Cuba has come stateside and offers a hybrid of classic psychedelic rock and an island roots vibe that should reach a wide base audience that just wants to enjoy upbeat music. There are clear 70s influences but by mixing subtle notes of most all of the last five decades it keeps each track unique. Lead vocalist and writer, Lisset Diaz (a Latinx version of Paramore’s Hayley Williams) is not the stereotypical front woman, as she was at the top of her class in biochemistry, though songwriting and music were always her passion. The band is rounded out with co-writer and bandleader Miguel Comas — who is possibly Cuba’s most respected record producer and rock guitarist — as well as Wilfredo Gatell on bass, and drummer Ángel Luis Millet.” – American Songwriter