Palouse Juice presents soulful, healing evening

Juice bar incorporates musical performance into wellness mission

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JENIN REYES | THE DAILY EVERGREEN

Natalie Greenfield performs an original song for the crowd Friday night at Palouse Juice.

MAGGIE QUINLAN, Evergreen reporter

Palouse Juice, a juice bar and restaurant in downtown Moscow, hosted local singer Natalie Greenfield for a “Soulful Evening” of intimate performance on Friday.

Warm light from Edison bulbs and tea candles gave the normally bright juice bar a laid-back cafe atmosphere. The shop retired noisy blenders for the night and offered a menu of sandwiches, salads and soups, along with a house-made hot cider.

Greenfield accompanied herself on a keyboard for her soul and R&B renditions of classic songs like “Jolene” by Dolly Parton and “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, along with several self-written songs in the vein of Alicia Keys. The performance was intimate and emotional, prioritizing soul as a concept over soul as a strict genre.

“I do music as part of a healing practice,” Greenfield said. “I do reiki and tarot and music and through those three things, my goal is just to give people whatever they need — whether it’s love or healing.”

Greenfield said she continues to find ways to combine her three main interests, but she planned to practice some subtle energy work while she performed. She also had a small layout of crystals and one tarot card in front of her keyboard.

“You’re always doing energy work when you’re an energy healer,” Palouse Juice Owner Toni Salerno-Baird said.

Salerno-Baird said Palouse Juice has grown beyond a juice and smoothie bar and now represents a beacon of light for people looking for general wellness. She said music contributes to healing, so she plans to host more events like this one.

“True healing is a mind-body-soul thing,” Salerno-Baird said. “You can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want, but if you’re not thinking the right things and feeling the right things, you’re not well.”

She said she believes in energetic medicines like acupuncture and reiki and hopes to incorporate this thinking into Palouse Juice more through classes, workshops and community-based events including musical evenings.

“Sometimes people come in here and it’s not a juice or smoothie they want — they want hope,” Salerno-Baird said. “I have literally prayed for somebody at a table before or done some energy work or just listened.”

Salerno-Baird hopes to provide a location that is welcoming to everyone, children included. Midway through Greenfield’s set, Ciena Salerno, Salerno-Baird’s 12-year-old daughter, stepped up to perform.

Accompanying herself on ukulele, Salerno belted “Riptide” by Vance Joy, then treated the audience to a song she wrote herself about an unavailable crush/best friend. Unfortunately for Salerno, as her lyrics stated, “Sucks that I can’t date until the 9th grade.”

Listeners gave Salerno a roaring applause before handing the microphone back to Greenfield. Thirty minutes into the night the cheery audience outnumbered chairs. A kids’ table in the back of the juice bar was filled with coloring materials and sweet giggles, adding to the sonic healing.

Salerno-Baird said she is excited to continue to share her message of healing through both diet and energy.

“Your cells are listening,” Salerno-Baird said. “Positive words and positive vibes make an impact, and I want to shout it from the rooftops. ‘You don’t have to be sick!’ ”