My friends and I were excited about seeing Haley Reinhart live at Space, an intimate venue near my home. Unfortunately, that show was canceled, but last Tuesday, Reinhart put on a show for fans worldwide.

A native of the Chicago area, Reinhart grew up in a musical family. Her musician parents’ band, Midnight, covers rock songs from the 1960s and 1970s. Reinhart performed with Midnight at an early age but also had her own band and sang with her school band. She placed third on the 10th season of American Idol. She has since released four albums.

Reinhart went live on the Janis Joplin Facebook page with a mini-tribute to the legendary singer. Accompanied by guitarist Dylan Chambers, Reinhart was in her backyard as we watched from a friend’s deck. We ordered pizza, connected a computer to his big screen and settled in for the show.

After starting with Joplin’s “Move Over,” Reinhart talked about her admiration for her. Through her parents’ music, she grew up absorbing the music of Joplin, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and others without even realizing it.

Without getting political, Reinhart spoke of spreading love, peace and acceptance. She spoke of being an outsider in school due to her clothing style, highly influenced by the 1960s. Reinhart continues to embrace that style.

After a couple original songs and another cover, Reinhart finished with a powerful rendition of Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.” She closed the show by encouraging all to “unabashedly be yourself” and to always be original.

I have seen Reinhart three times and was really looking forward to seeing her again. While it wasn’t the same as seeing Haley in person, it was a half hour of soulful music on a beautiful day.

— John Wroblewski, online writer