Welcome to the PSALM Salon Performing Arts Center Information and Ticketing Site! The PSALM Salon is Philadelphia's coolest intimate venue for great music listening. The Salon invites music lovers to experience the finest in live music from the world over, all in the cozy comfort of home, but with the professional quality of a high end concert club. PSALM only invites the best of the best to perform here. You will be delighted to discover exciting new, as well as famous established artists. There is never a so-so evening here. It is a warm and welcoming place for the community to share in some of the most wonderful eclectic music found anywhere, make new friends, enjoy really good food catered by Avril Restaurant, and meet world class musicians one on one. It is a truly unique musical enjoyment experience. Lovers of theater, dance, comedy, performance art, and literary readings will also find much to get excited about. The 60 seat PSALM Salon is produced by the non-profit Philadelphia Society for Art, Literature & Music in the home of Jamey Reilly, PSALM's chairman. Our shows are broadcast worldwide live via internet streaming, and archived for free viewing anytime at www.ustream.tv/channel/live-at-the-psalm-salon Watch our most recent performance!
If you would rather a full dinner menu and a traditional white table cloth dining experience, take advantage of our "Night on the Town" 15% and $5 discount deal at Avril Restaurant, 134 Bala Avenue, Bala Cynwyd... just call them at 610-667-2626 for reservations before the show. Check out our upcoming shows below, and join those in the know for an incomparable evening out.
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We are very pleased to offer our popular "DINNER AND A SHOW" in association with Avril Restaurant, a gourmet Southern French / Northern Italian bistro. Chef Christian Gatti comes to PSALM each week to cater a themed buffet dinner menu created especially to complement the PSALM performance of the evening! The sumptuous dinners at PSALM include hot meat and vegetarian entree selections, delicious side dishes, home made pastries, and delicious desserts - all for a modest $20 fixed price. PSALM provides free hot and cold beverages and chips, and of course BYO is always welcome. The optional dinner is available from 7:30 pm when doors open until 9:30 pm and reservations are not necessary.  |
The 1st Wednesday of Every Month 7pm - 10pm BLUES JAMFree Admission - BYO welcome! Buffet Dinner at PSALM, Catered by Avril Restaurant. 7pm ro 9:30 pm - Prix Fixe $20
An opportunity for players and lovers of the Blues to get together to celebrate the USA's original musical art-form. Hosted By WXPN's Jonny Meister and PSALM's Jamey Reilly. (Noted Bluesman Samuel James performing at PSALM - Photo: Jamey Reilly) |
The Blues found its voice in the deep south from the Mississippi Delta to Memphis Tennessee during the times of African-American slavery, when field workers would holler and moan to break the heat and monotony of cruel work under the hot sun... often communicating spiritual sentiments, social commentary, personal tragedy or news of escape in the underground railway.
From these early traditions of one man with a guitar, steeped in the rhythms of Africa, came influences from places as diverse as the Celtic Isles, France and the Carribean which blended to create a style of music that developed regional inflections which came to be known as "Folk, Country, Delta, Texas, Memphis, Barrel House, Chicago, East Coast, Electric, Piedmont, Jump, Swamp, Boogie, etc.". From the raw and earthy power of the Blues emerged the genres of Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock 'n' Roll. Having come full-circle, the Blues has finally earned worldwide respect, with broad appeal to audiences and players of all races and social statures.
Many of the founders and popularizers of Blues music are still with us or recently passed. Greats like BB King, Son House, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Rodgers, Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Big Bill Broonzy, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Blind Lemon Jefferson, JB Lenoir, and so many more old-timers. Modern adherents of the tradition have carried the Blues into the present day and given it new sounds... including Paul Butterfield, John Mayall, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Shemika Copeland, Samuel James, Keb Mo, Magic Slim, Deb Callahan, Don Evans, and Rory Block, among others. Echoes of the Blues can be heard in almost all popular music today.
PSALM honors these and others who preserve and extend the joy and sorrow of the Blues, and opens its doors the first Wednesdays of every month from 7pm to 10 pm free of charge to invite both players and lovers to join for a few hours in an intimate concert-like environment to enjoy the spontaneous expression of the USA's original musical art-form. The Blues Jam is hosted by PSALM's resident bass-man Jamey Reilly and WXPN's Jonny Meister, host of "Blues and Beyond" and the "Blues Show." The PSALM house band, the "Philly Blues Kings" (Jamey Reilly - bass, David Madora - drums, Chris Bushnell - guitar) generally supply a driving rhythm section to back guest players.
We make it easy for players by supplying a full sound system, drum kit, keyboard, and several amplifiers. All you need to bring is your favorite guitar/cord/amp if you want/bass/horn/harp/harp mic/etc. All levels of proficiency are welcome... from seasoned professional players to amateurs with a story to tell.
Our jams are broadcast live worldwide on Ustream, and archived for all to view online... just in case one of those magical peak moments occurs!
Our listening room holds 60 guests comfortably, and we welcome aficionados to come, kick back and enjoy an evening of good music and good company. BYO is welcome.
Come and enjoy!
| Saturday, September 4 | |
| MACK BAILEY & RACHEL LEVY | LIZANNE KNOTT & JOHN CONAHAN |
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MENU
Prepared by Chef Gatti of Avril Restaurant
Chopped Salad
Meat Entree: Meat Loaf Struedel with roasted potatoes and slaw
Vegetarian Entree: Roasted Vegetable Strudel with roasted potatoes and slaw
A Selecion of desserts from Avril Bakery Cafe
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
In its power, clarity and shear beauty, Mack Bailey's voice reminds me of no one more than my friend, the late John Denver. I love to hear this man sing.”
- Tom Paxton
You can tell a lot about singer songwriter Mack Bailey by the musical company he keeps. Mack has been hailed as “the next great singer in folk music” by no less an authority than Glenn Yarbrough, the original tenor in the fabulous world-renowned folk trio, The Limeliters. Mack’s career came full circle when in 2004 he was asked to be the newest tenor in The Limeliters, with whom he now performs around the country.
Using John Denver’s music, Mack taught himself to play the guitar, so it was a thrill for Mack when he had the privilege of trading verses to “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” with Denver in front of 9000 people shortly before John’s death. Today, the Limeliters and John Denver continue to play an active role in Mack’s professional life, even as he pursues his successful solo career. Mack has caught the attention of national folk music audiences with not only his Limeliters performances, but also with his prominent role in the nationally touring show “A Musical Tribute to John Denver” with many of John’s former band members and production crew.
Several of Denver’s former band members have also played on Mack’s albums, including Chris Nole, Pete Huttlinger, Jim Horn, and Bill Danoff. Other music royalty has joined him as well: Mary Chapin Carpenter sang on his first album, which was produced by Bill Danoff of “Country Roads” and “Afternoon Delight” fame, and the Jordanaires contributed soulful background vocals on his album, Why I’m Here. Denver’s long-time producer, Kris O’Connor, produced Mack’s Through Your Eyes album. Most recently, prestigious musicians like Sam Bush, Pat Flynn, and Jack Pearson graced Mack’s album, Choose Your Attitude.
For almost two decades, Mack has been a principal member of the reunited 60s group, The Hard Travelers, with whom he has recorded five albums. He has a rich history of major concert appearances having performed with or shared the stage as opener with a long list of folk and country stars including Brooks & Dunn, Randy Travis, Alabama, Barbara Mandrell, Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill & Amy Grant, Kathy Mattea, Tom Rush, Tom Paxton, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kenny Rogers, Alan Jackson, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Leann Rimes, and John Denver confirming that indeed, Mack keeps very good musical company.
Mack also performs with his wife, Rachel Levy, and the duo have been likened to a “similar pairing 40 years ago of Gram Parsons and a very young Emmylou Harris”. “Lucky Man”, written by Mack and Rachel, was chosen as a finalist in the 2006 mid-atlantic song contest in the country/bluegrass category and was also selected to be profiled in sing out! Magazine. In addition, this past fall “Lucky Man” was a feature song on NASCAR Angels. Mack and Rachel also co-penned “It’s Time”, which has received critical acclaim from former Vice-President Al Gore, as promoting environmental awareness. Mack was awarded for his excellence with a WAMMIE for Best Traditional Folk Performer, and his song “High Gear” has been featured on NPR’s popular Car Talk.
Originally hailing from the small town of Troy, North Carolina, Mack attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and graduated with a degree in music performance. Besides writing, performing solo and in his two groups, and recording eight solo albums, Mack is musically active in several medical and environmental causes, including Maryland Therapeutic Riding, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Starlight Starbright, and Challenge Aspen. Mack has also played in nursing homes and Alzheimer’s units playing group concerts and individual outreach, and he continues to enjoy working with school students on songwriting in their creative writing classes. Mack currently resides in Denver, Colorado.
"Absolutely gorgeous music. We've rarely had as big a reaction to any artist in recent years that we've had for Lizanne Knott"
- Bob harris BBC2
An award winning songwriter and managing partner of renowned MorningStar Studios, Lizanne Knott has been captivating audiences throughout the Northeast and garnering accolades from radio listeners and peers around the globe. Well known locally for her floating vocals and lyrical juxtapositions, her apparent depth and transcending warmth make for an inviting mix of music which moves easily through dark poetic ballads - to roots driven folk and folk rock. She has performed at some of the most prestigious listening venues on the east coast and throughout England, steadily gaining ground wherever the road takes her.
A frequent featured artist on London's acclaimed Bob Harris show, BBC2 and other BBC stations, she also recieves airplay on AAA radio throughout the US. Her music has been used in independant films, TV movies, documentaries and by national non-profit organizations.
Together with partner - 4 time GRAMMY Award winning producer/engineer, Glenn Barratt and a host of their friends ~ who happen to be some of the most renowned session players around ~ she merges her delicately soulful sound with some of todays most innovative music.
Lizanne is proud to be the Philadelphia host for the New York Songwriter's Circle at World Cafe Live.
Lizanne's Affiliations:
MorningStar Studios ~ Managing Partner
New York Songwriter's Circle ~ Philadelphia Director
Stoneyport Associates, UK
Americana Music Association Member
NSAI ~ Professional Member
ASCAP ~ American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
BMI ~ Broadcast Music Incorporated
MOC ~ Musicians on Call
Lizanne's CDs can be purchased at CD BABY: www.cdbaby.com and in stores throughout the UK.
John Conahan has been featured on international, national and regional radio programs, shared the stage with a myriad of musicians, and appears regularly at the most prestigious venues throughout the country. He is a regular at the Tin Angel, the World Café Live, the Living Room, The National Underground, Rockwood Music Hall and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. He has shared the stage with friends like Missy Higgins, Los Lobos, Jeffrey Gaines, Josh Joplin, Rachael Sage and Bernie Worrell. John’s audience interaction is always a highlight – he’ll have you singing his songs and outright laughing in between them. You can find out more about John and his recordings on iTunes.
John’s award-winning songs have been featured on MTV, VH1, in film, promotional campaigns and syndicated broadcasts and podcasts.
John composes, arranges and performs as a featured soloist with a number of ensembles including string quartets, orchestras, jazz combos and choral groups. He has been a Music Director for many notable recording and touring projects.
"John Conahan is all about the music – all of the time."
- Frank Quattrone
"Conahan delivers with startling passion and emotion, singing with flair and personality, complete with eclectic, rich piano playing. His sound is flawless."
- Copper Press
"John’s music caresses your soul while quenching your thirst for finely-crafted music."
- Music Morsels
"Many of today’s singer songwriters blend blues, jazz, folk and country in a style that says, ‘I don’t have my own voice or know what my interests are.’ These songwriters master no style and create musical mush. John Conahan has none of these problems. His blues, jazz, pop, and vocal music all contain his unique vision."
- David Wannop, Music Journalist
"John is a captivating, larger than life performer and if you haven't seen him yet- do yourself the favor... you’ll be blown away, I promise."
- Dena Marchiony - Philadelphia Songwriters Project
"John is an outstanding talent and equally entertaining. His voice is one of those rare instruments that can go anyplace his heart desires. He is a true pleasure to listen to!"
- Tina Shafer - New York Songwriters Circle
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
The jazz influence can be heard in the album’s opening seconds, in the curt, insistent repetition of piano and percussion. Day’s lyrics rely on repetition just as much, returning to a phrase or theme over and over, as if examining it from different angles. Her voice, meanwhile, is a sultry yet versatile thing, hinting at Fiona Apple and Jolie Holland but usually striking off on its own.
She’s admirably moody as songwriters go, pairing a cello-soaked weeper like “Under the Bridge” with the spunky country of “Tofu Song,” a two-minute ode to barbecuing fake meat. Backed by a revolving cast of musicians, other songs touch on classical or R&B (“I Want You to Be My Love” has both), and “Walls” is a leering set piece that’s ideal for Day’s emotional assaying.
Day has a penchant for summoning bygone times, and not just with her mastery of torch songs and baroque flourishes. She sings of “a cloud of yellowed memories” in the same breath as she commands “leave those dinosaur bones alone,” and she mentions a phrase you don’t hear much these days—“shanty towns”—in both “You Won’t Be the Fool” and the closing “I’ve Been Wrong Before.”
The latter is perhaps her most ambitious song, a six-minute opus that begins in a whisper and gradually climbs to a heavenly swoon in its final minute as Day offers, “Maybe we’ll start anew.” Whether she’s addressing herself or someone else is anyone’s guess."
-Doug Wallen, Philadelphia Weekly
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
"… widely thought of as the world’s most gifted guitarist"
- Total Guitar
"True spellbinding guitar mastery"
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Guitarist Magazine
"Spectacular… the best one-man show this reviewer has seen since Bruce
Springsteen… A terrific performer"
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The Irish Independent
You may experience a strange sensation when you watch Preston Reed live for the first time. It starts with a sharp intake of breath. Seconds later, your jaw swings on its hinges, your eyes become dinner plates and your brain fizzes as it computes the musical madness being relayed by your ears. You feel light-headed, because you haven’t breathed for two minutes. Don’t be alarmed. These are all perfectly normal reactions to witnessing the guitar visionary of the 21st century.
Preston Reed is a one-man revolution. The 53-year-old New Yorker tweaks the nose of musical convention, pokes the eye of accepted wisdom, and burns the rulebook of the past. His unique style is impossible, unfathomable, unthinkable, as with blurred hands he taps, tickles, slaps and soothes his instrument, fusing polyrhythmic percussion with emotive melody to create a sonic landscape. Each piece is a symphonic tidal wave, yet Reed only needs one acoustic and ten fingers to send it crashing onto audiences across the planet.
There’s a clear line in the sand when it comes to the journey of Preston Reed. It was drawn in the summer of 1988, as the guitarist sat in his Minneapolis apartment and searched for a way to break out of a musical rut. Until that point, Reed’s path had been familiar. He was a child of the ’60s, and cites his earliest memory as The Rolling Stones’ hit The Last Time, whose classic lick led him to early flirtations with the ukulele and a grounding in basic chords courtesy of his father. He wrote his first song at eight – a number called The Lonely Night – before a course of regimented classical lessons wilted his passion.
But fate wasn’t finished with Preston Reed. At 15, the bug bit again, as Reed attended a Hot Tuna show in New York and was floored by the bluesy fretwork of Jorma Kaukonen. That night, his guitar was retrieved from the closet and took up permanent residence on his lap, with Reed drawing inspiration from acoustic legends like John Fahey and Leo Kottke, and developing his own voice along the way. He was still just 17 when whispers of his talent buzzed through the music circuit following a live debut in support of beat poet Allen Ginsberg at the Smithsonian Institute.
Starting with 1979’s Acoustic Guitar, a volley of thrilling albums spread Reed’s reputation, and by 1988 he had signed a major deal with MCA with the help of his friend, country singer Lyle Lovett. But behind closed doors, the guitarist was frustrated. Though spellbinding by any standards, his playing had reached a plateau; his muse held in a stranglehold by the physical limitations of the instrument. Then the thunderbolt struck. Reed wiped his technique clean, stepped into the void and made his first attempt at the two-handed fretboard attack that would change his trajectory forever. Creatively and commercially, things would never be the same again.
If Reed were the type of musician to look back, he could reflect on three decades of glories including gigs with Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt, burgeoning sales of his 15 (and counting) studio albums, sold-out venues across three continents, untold hits on YouTube and the praise of both the man on the street and fellow six-string pioneers like Al DiMeola and Michael Hedges. If he were a statistician, he might refer to the 1997 live satellite broadcast on Turkish television that saw an audience of 120 million in 17 countries flood the switchboards after his performance.
But Preston Reed doesn’t deal in nostalgia. Twenty years after he changed the face of the acoustic guitar, this trailblazer still tours and records with a passion that flows into the hearts, heads and feet of his audiences, and continues to push his musicianship to a place where other guitarists fear to tread. Nobody knows where Preston Reed’s journey will take him next – not even the man himself. The one thing we know for sure is that it’ll be one hell of a ride.
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Sunday, September 19 :: 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Workshop -
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Set up like speed dating, the participants will have 3-5 min. to meet each with other and at the end of the introductory time people will get partners to co-write with. Bring your unfinished ideas, your new concepts, or just an open and creative attitude and see what happens.
This session will be led by Scot Sax, Grammy award winning writer who will lead the festivities and share insight into the world of co-writing.
Scot co-wrote the Grammy-Winning song "Like We Never Loved At All" performed by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. The song reached #5 on the Billboard charts and Top 10 on Billboard Magazine's Adult Contemporary Charts. The album has gone Double Platinum. Sax is currently teaching a Songwriting Class at University Of The Arts in Philadalphia, writing in Nashville, performing with Sharon Little and hosting Open Mic Night at Milkboy in Bryn Mawr, PA. His songs recently have appeared on the hit NBC show "Men In Trees". He continues to perform both as a solo artist and with his band SAXploitation.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
Dirk Hamilton's music career began in the early 1970s in and around Northern California. Wanting to make records, he ventured to Los Angeles and quickly caught the attention of influential producer Gary Katz—at the time working with Steely Dan. Katz arranged a deal with ABC Records and produced Dirk's first album, You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right, using elite session musicians that included Elliott Randall, Jeff Porcaro, Victor Feldman, and Larry Carlton. Dirk had his own vision about the way he wanted to make his music and put together his own band and co-produced Alias i with Stephan Goldman.
In 1978 he left ABC for Elektra/Asylum, and made Meet Me at the Crux, which was called "hilarious and chilling" by Ken Tucker in the Rolling Stone Record Guide. Years later (1990), respected music journalist Steve Pond named it as one of the essential albums of the 1970s in an article also published in Rolling Stone. Dirk toured with Warren Zevon and produced one other album for Elektra, but his adamant stance on making the music he heard in his head rather than trying to make "marketable product," ended his affiliation with the company.
After leaving the business for several years, Dirk realized that, come what may, his mission in life was to make music, and he returned to a career of his own design which continues to this day. In 1989 he was surprised to discover that he had a large following in Italy and has toured there every year since.
These days he tours Italy at least once a year with his American band and once a year fronting an Italian band. He also plays solo and with his band here in the United States. Six of Dirk's albums have been released on Italian labels. Dirk has been called "A true American master" by well-known producer Dusty Wakeman (who produced his 1996 album, sufferupachuckle), and he has been compared over the years to Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen.
Music reviewers have said: "One of rock's best-kept secrets...a gripping live performer" (Los Angeles Times), "One of the few legitimate poets on the scene" (New York Press), "Lucid, intelligent, and distinctive songs...as well as a winning presence onstage (Austin Chronicle), and "Brilliant songwriting and goose bump-inducing singing" (Tower Pulse). Dirk Hamilton is all that and more, and he continues to hold true to his stance that his career be conducted without compromise.
Georgie Jessup is a three time WAMMIE nominated singer songwriter, a 2004 INDIAN SUMMER MUSIC AWARD’S nominee, and musician of extraordinary passion.
Georgie Jessup first appeared on the scene in 1983 with the R&B band Georgie Jessup and the Jewels. The Jewels won a signed band contest that the Baltimore Sun sponsored and many celebrities sat as the judges. RollingStone Magazine and then Baltimore Sun music critic J.D. Considine was one of the judges who commented that Georgie's songs were reminiscent of Sprinsteen's Sandy, (4th of July)
Indeed Georgie has a strong powerful voice and like Springsteen, writes songs that ring true. Georgie went on to front a local R&B band which Music Monthly Magazine, (then Maryland Musician Magazine), could not stoptalking about, called Wavelength. The magazine even featured Georgie's picture in their ad for the first All Star Jam. Wavelength and various members recorded nine Jessup originals, before Jessup formed the Georgie Jessup Band in 1987. One song, Your Demons, was selected for the 98ROCK Album Volume IV. Wavelength went on to perform at many top area clubs and TV programs.
S/he has an equally extraordinary ability to encourage audiences to look deeply into their prejudices and other transgressions. Consequently, audiences tend to respond emotionally, if not always lovingly. Georgie has developed a successful career by challenging musical styles, personal identifications, and storybook history lessons.
S/he has released three CD's AMERICAN HOLOCAUST, SWEET GRASS SMOKE, and WINKTE & CRAZY SACRED DOGS and is working on hir fourth release with co-producer and engineer/musician, Billy Kemp and his band Willbilly.
Austria’s own Big City Indian for their 2003 release Native Heart Urban Soul recorded hir song, Red Cloud’s Room, from the Sweet Grass Smoke CD. Hir songs have been covered by other songwriters including Throw Away The Lies, that the president of the BSA, (Baltimore Songwriters Association), performs at his shows
CONCERT - $20 Advance/$25 Door, 8:00 pm
"Phil Roy grew up in Philadelphia during the '70s, when Philly soul ruled the airwaves. As a young guitar player (starting at age nine, his teacher was in Gamble & Huff's house band), hearing jazz from John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock led Roy to study at Berklee. It was at Berklee that he realized he didn't have the chops to make it as a jazz guitarist, but a class on songwriting opened up another avenue in music for him.
After writing some songs, Roy moved to Los Angeles, where he put together Carrera, which was then signed and dropped by Warner Bros. after one album. The band changed names and was signed and dropped by EMI after one album. Roy then gave up on the performance end of music and became a staff writer for several publishers, achieving some success by having his songs performed by Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Widespread Panic, and others. Even so, Roy was feeling unfulfilled, realizing "that I was writing songs to get on commercial radio when I wasn't even listening to commercial radio!" He decided that writing and recording an album of his own was the thing to do.
Phil continues to thrill audiences everywhere with his incisive wit and sardonic yet warm persona. When not writing and performing, Phil welcomes his fans into his Philadelphia home where he prepares sumptuous gourmet feasts and gives private concerts.
His debut, Grouchyfriendly, was recorded in 2000 and managed to sell 8,000 copies without a distributor, leading to his being named 2002 Independent Artist of the Year by Musician's Atlas magazine. He followed it up with Issues + Options, which was then picked up by Or Music and re-released in May 2003. After a breif hiatus from the studio, Roy returned with Great Longing in May 2007."
– Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
Round Mountain's Char and Robby Rothschild have been playing music together for most of their lives. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, their background ranges from Balkan and West African styles to traditional Appalachian music, from Irish ballads to klezmer. While they have played extensively together and separately in many ensembles and projects, including Prince Diabate, Panjea, the Selkies, and Lizard House, this configuration marks the crystallization of their own music using the traditions that have inspired them. Expect many extremes - beautiful acoustic numbers, wild bagpipes, trumpet and accordion played by one person at the same time, Bulgarian zydeco, and Malian rhythms, to name a few. But while their music is varied, it is far from random. There is a solvent behind all these different dry ingredients that allows them to blend seamlessly – original songwriting with respect and love for the music. And, of course, the peculiar breed of madness the Rothschild brothers possess.
Char Rothschild, the elder of the two brothers, gives new life to the word multi-instrumentalist. In the course of a live performance, he plays trumpet, guitar, banjo, dobro, accordion, Irish whistle, gaida (Bulgarian bagpipes) and saz (a type of Turkish lute). In recordings he will often add ney (Turkish flute), clarinet, trombone, percussion, and more. Behind each of these instruments is a story and often a journey. He has played in Tokyo with the Old Moscow Circus, toured Australia with the Afro-funk band Panjea, recorded with Latif Bolat, and performed with countless other projects regionally. He is also a gifted songwriter and accompanist who has written music for many theatrical productions. Char graduated with a BFA in Contemporary Music from the College of Santa Fe.
Robby Rothschild, the younger of the two, plays cajon (Peruvian/flamenco box drum), djembe, bouzouki, mandolin, kora (West African harp), as well as singing. He began playing piano and drums at an age of eight, and has never been the same since. As a percussionist, he has been deeply influenced by the rhythms of West Africa. He has studied djembe in Mali and the United States, and has toured and recorded internationally with Kip Winger, Panjea, and Ottmar Liebert. Robby is a talented composer - his places of study include the New England Conservatory of Music, the College of Santa Fe's Contemporary Music Program, and the University of New Mexico, where he is completing a Master's in Composition.
Round Mountain is a lively mixture of ceremony and irreverence, of exuberance and reflection. Beneath all of these unlikely marriages, a certain warmth remains to unify their sound and their message. In a time when most music has become so brightly polished that no one can see inside, Round Mountain presents a rare rough gem of humanity that glows from within.
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/roundmountainmusic#ixzz0tmBaF9G7
www.myspace.com/roundmountainmusic
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
“This music feels like the truest for me,” says Lauren of her fourth CD “Good Things.” The addictive blend of classic songwriting and edgy swagger is a soulful tip of the hat to the music Lauren listened to growing up in New Jersey: the sounds of Motown – Aretha Franklin, the Jackson 5, and Gladys Knight; and the grooves of Philly Soul – Gamble and Huff, Hall & Oates, and the Hooters.
Lauren’s return to her roots was sparked by performances with the legendary Funk Brothers of Motown fame, and the Philadelphia-based hip-hop/steel guitar band Slo-Mo, which she joined two years ago. Said Lauren, “I kept thinking, when do I have the most fun? Where am I at my best? When am I able to make that magical connection with an audience? It became very clear to me. Like most people looking for their truth, you come full circle just to find out you were probably on the right track all along.”
“Good Things” was produced by Tony Reyes at Maze Studios in Atlanta. An undeniably talented producer/musician/songwriter who played bass in Lauren’s band earlier in his career, Reyes has worked with Joss Stone, Gnarles Barkley, Gwen Stefani, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Elliot Yamin and Shakira. The album was masterfully engineered by Carlton Lynn, whose impressive collaborations include Collective Soul, TLC, Pink, Ashanti, Usher and Aretha Franklin.
“I wanted this music to ‘feel’ great,” says Lauren. It does. “Good Things” is the perfect showcase for the power, range and emotion of Lauren’s voice. “I’ve let go of any fear I had of over-singing – I’m no longer holding back. I wrote this album for my voice. I wrote what feels good. I closed my eyes, I pictured looking into the eyes of others, and singing the words that would move them. It stopped being about crafting the perfect song mechanically. ‘Good Things’ is about capturing the emotion of that very moment.”
While the groove is the thing on this CD, there is a message, and the tongue-in-cheek “High Times” is an ideal example. “I wanted to write about the conversations I have on any given day, and usually, they revolve around what the #&*^ is going on in the world. I never wanted to be a preacher, but as an artist, it’s hard not to want to express these feelings in your work. This is the most pivotal time in America’s history since I’ve been alive. And music isn’t showing it. Maybe it wouldn’t have to be an in-your-face-60s thing, but music is kinda hiding out in a nice, shiny place hoping no one will notice.”
Always known for her introspective lyrics and soaring vocals, Lauren’s songs have been heard on television series and soap operas including “Joan of Arcadia,” “Party of Five,” “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” and her critically acclaimed National Anthem is featured in the Disney feature film “Miracle.” Lauren sings the National Anthem before every Philadelphia Flyers home game, a tribute to her late father, legendary National Hockey League Hall of Fame announcer Gene Hart, known for 30 years as “The Voice of the Flyers.”
She has performed at the Presidential Inauguration, where she shared the stage with Bill Clinton, and on the French Riviera, where she lived for several years, performing for such artists as Stan Getz, the Gipsy Kings, Harry Belafonte and Frank Sinatra. In the U.S., she has appeared on the CBS Morning Show from New York City, and opened for Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Train and 10,000 Maniacs.
Lauren is currently recording a song for the new documentary “When Jane & Johnny Come Marching Home-less,” and just completed filming the television pilot, “Audition Booth,” as the host of this new music and arts outlet.
Lauren’s passion for music is matched only by her passion for the charitable organizations she is committed to – the Gene Hart Memorial Fund, Echoes Foundation, and ONE. Please visit the “World” section of this web site to learn about these extraordinary organizations.
Lauren sits on the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy Awards), the Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Hospital Cancer Center, and is an honorary Board member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Southern New Jersey Chapter. In 2007, Lauren was honored by the Society with its prestigious “Person of the Year” Award.
Following 10 years in radio as host and producer at WERS and WGBH FM, Brendan Hogan has released his first full-length studio album, 'Long Night Coming'.
"Hogan has a delicate yet forceful flow." - The Somerville News
"'Long Night Coming' impressively forms a consistent literary landscape." - The Killing Floor Blog
"Hogan's music is a transporting experience." - Deli Magazine New England
"'Long Night Coming' is a raw, honest work featuring a wonderfully world-weary voice." - The Hippo News And Culture Weekly
Hogan started his career in music at Emerson College in 1999 working for the school’s acclaimed student-run station, WERS, 88.9. Upon leaving WERS in 2002, Brendan was hired by Boston NPR-affiliate, WGBH, 89.7, to take over a popular long-running music program there.
Says Hogan: "I was playing guitar all this time, and I also took a corporate day-job that made me miserable. It was leading nowhere. I was really miserable in my life. I can remember it was seeing that Townes Van Zandt film, “Be Here to Love Me.” I saw that at the Brattle Theater and it was like one of those “where have you been all my life?” kind of moments. Townes is not a household name, and he’s not exactly a role model being a guy who drank himself to death by the time he was 52. But seeing that film made me feel good, made me feel happy. Because of who he was and what he did musically. I think that inspired me to finally get the guts enough to start going to open mics around town."
Released in late 2009, Hogan has written and recorded his debut CD, 'Long Night Coming', featuring original roots, modern folk, and blues-based songs, as well as two familiar standards in the folk and country genres. Hogan’s work in songwriting and performing has seen him share stages with Geoff Muldaur, Ray Bonneville, Eilen Jewell, Les Sampou, Kris Delmhorst, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, Spider John Koerner, Brooks Williams, and others.
Hogan has recently headlined Club Passim, performed at the WUMB Music Fest (aka Boston Folk Festival), and showcased for the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association and the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance conference. The Boston Phoenix newspaper has called Hogan “a distinctive new musical voice”.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
Acclaimed chamber musicians, violist Kathryn Lockwood and percussionist Yousif Sheronick perform together as duoJalal, dazzling audiences around the world with their artistry and synergy. Known for their work with LARK Chamber Artists and Ethos Percussion Group, duoJalal explores musical traditions that cross the globe. The true depth of their virtuosity and musical versatility is revealed as they weave classical and world traditions into western chamber music sensibilities. Recent performances include venues and festivals throughout the US and Australia.
This remarkable blend of melody and rhythm creates a musical conversation unlike any other. The viola is augmented with the sounds of the durbakeh (goblet drum) and riq (tambourine) from the Middle East, the West African djembe, and numerous frame drums from around the globe. From Philip Glass, to Derek Bermel to John Patitucci, composers are eager to contribute to duoJalal’s repertoire as their view of the musical world is all-encompassing. duoJalal’s name is inspired by the 13th century poet Jalal Rumi, whose visions, words, and life teach the world how to reach inner peace and happiness and that people of all religions and backgrounds can live together in peace and harmony.
Kathryn Lockwood has been hailed as a violist of exceptional talents in reviews around the country. The Cleveland Plain Dealer proclaimed, "...Lockwood played the vociferous viola cadenza with mahogany beauty and vivid character." 2005 marked the release of Kathryn's solo recital CD of Viola Music by Inessa Zaretsky, "Fireoptics", which Strad declared "Lockwood is absolutely inside the music's idiom finding appropriate tonal shadings". In addition to touring and recording with the Lark Quartet, Kathryn Lockwood performs with numerous other prestigious groups including Trio Solisti, Triple Helix, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Muir Quartet. Kathryn moved from her homeland of Australia to the United States in 1991 only to capture some of the most sought-after awards in the country including the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, Grand Prize at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, Concert Artists Guild Management Award, and awards at solo competitions such as the Primrose Competition, Washington International Competition, and the Pasadena Instrumental Competition.
Before relocating to New York in 2001 Kathryn held the position of violist of the Pacifica Quartet since its inception. As an original member of Pacifica Quartet, Kathryn was heard live on National Public Radio's "Performance Today" and on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Ravinia's Bennett Gordon Hall, Corcoran Gallery, St. Lawrence Center, and University of Thessaloniki /Greece. Kathryn collaborated with violist Michael Tree on an all Dvorak CD and composer Easley Blackwood on recordings released by Cedille Records. Kathryn performs regularly with Russian born pianist and composer, Inessa Zaretsky, with whom she has recorded Zaretsky's "Fireoptics" on Bribie Recordings. Collaborations include such artists as Cho-Liang Lin, Judith Ingolfsson, Branford Marsalis, St. Lawrence Quartet, and the Bill T Jones Dance Company. Currently on faculty at University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Rutgers University in NJ, the Concordia Conservatory in Bronxville NY and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Kathryn was previously on the faculty at Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Interlochen Academy, Music Institute of Chicago, and National Music Camp in Australia. Kathryn earned her Master's Degree with Donald McInnes at the University of Southern California, and her Bachelor of Music Degree from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with Elizabeth Morgan.
Hailed by the New York Times for his “dazzling improvisations” YOUSIF SHERONICK appears internationally as soloist and chamber musician with world-renowned groups and artists such as Philip Glass, Ethos Percussion Group, Glen Velez, Foday Musa Suso, Simon Shaheen, Henry Threadgill, Lark Chamber Artists and Paul Winter Consort. duoJalal is his most recent venture with violist and wife Kathryn Lockwood. Sheronick's unique style encompasses traditions and instruments from the Middle East, North and West Africa, Brazil, India, and Europe. His ability to work in such diverse genres is due to having studied contemporary classical, jazz, world and rock music, which he seamlessly fuses into his playing. Critics say Yousif “is capable of creating hypnotic atmospheres” (Mundoclasico) where he "transported the listener to another dimension." (Ritmic). Prestigious venue performances include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royal Festival Hall (London) and Wigmore Hall (London). Distinguished collaborators include Yo-Yo Ma, Branford Marsalis, Pandit Samir Chatterjee, Marcel Khalife, Sonny Fortune and Cindy Blackman.
Mr. Sheronick recently released his critically acclaimed solo CD titled "Silk Thread" which Modern Drummer Magazine calls “a testimony to his genius”. He also released a Riq Instructional DVD which Rhythm Magazine (UK) says “is a must to uncover the mysteries of this ancient instrument.” He has appeared throughout the US, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia with festival appearances including the JVC and Newport Jazz Festivals, Jazztel (Madrid), Renaissance Festival (Rethymno, Greece) Early Music Festival (Regensburg, Germany) and Jerusalem Festival (Palestine). He has performed live on NPR's "Performance Today" and John Schaffer's "New Sounds." An active clinician, Mr. Sheronick teaches masterclasses at home in the US and abroad. Mr. Sheronick holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Iowa, is artist in residence with Ethos Percussion Group at Lehman College (Bronx, NY) and serves on the faculty of Concordia Conservatory.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
The story of Pete and Maura Kennedy’s personal and professional relationship, now in its second decade, is somewhere between fate and a fairytale. How else can you explain a chance meeting in Austin between two East Coast-born musicians that immediately sparked a songwriting collaboration, a first date at Buddy Holly’s grave, an enduring romance, and a creative partnership that radiates warmth, positive energy, and captivating music?
In 1992, Virginia native Pete Kennedy was playing a solo show at Austin’s Continental Club on a brief sabbatical from his duties as country-folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith’s lead guitarist when he met former Syracuse, NY, resident Maura Boudreau, enjoying a night off from performing with her own country-rock band, The Delta Rays. The duo “instantly connected on a soul level, or maybe even something deeper,” according to Pete. They wrote their first song together the following day before Pete returned to the road, and rendezvoused ten days later at mutual hero Buddy Holly’s grave in Lubbock, Tex., 500 miles equidistant between them. And that’s how it started . . .
When Griffith needed a harmony singer to replace Iris Dement on short notice for a British tour in Spring ’93, Maura was the obvious choice, and her touring life alongside Pete began. While boarding the plane to England, Nanci informed the duo that they would serve as the opening act for many of the shows on her tour, as well as performing in her backing band. With a need for material to fill their set, Pete and Maura wrote an inspired set of songs in Dublin that would become the basis for their first album, 1995’s River of Fallen Stars, which earned an “Indie” award as “Best Adult Contemporary CD” by the National Association of Independent Record Distributors.
The body of work The Kennedys have created since their 1994 wedding is a reflection of their musical and philosophical influences and experiences separately and as a couple. A child of the ’50s, Pete was compelled to pick up his older sister’s guitar after seeing The Beatles perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and was soon playing “Louie Louie” and “Satisfaction” in a garage band while also absorbing the new sounds of The Byrds and folk-rock. After a year of studies at Boston College and with disco music just around the corner, Pete “started to lose interest in pop and got into taking the long view of the guitar.” He returned to Virginia and immersed himself in classical and jazz guitar, studying with master players Joe Pass and Johnny Smith in the late ’70s and early ’80s. The rise of the “alt.country” scene in the mid-’80s reignited Pete’s interest in contemporary music and he became a first-call session player in the Washington, DC, area. When fellow picker John Jennings took a sabbatical from his role as Mary Chapin Carpenter’s lead guitarist, Pete stepped into his shoes. On a final show with Carpenter in 1991 (on “Austin City Limits”) before she took a hiatus for songwriting, Pete sat in with fellow guest Nanci Griffith, was invited to join her band, and accepted.
Meanwhile, Maura Boudreau was learning there was more to music than pop when she started working in a used record store in Syracuse in the mid-’80s. There she discovered the British Invasion bands of two decades earlier, England’s groundbreaking folk-rock group Fairport Convention, and, most significantly, country-rock singer Emmylou Harris, whose recordings led Maura to the traditional music of Patsy Cline and the Louvin Brothers. She subsequently switched from playing Fairport-influenced material to forming the country-oriented Delta Rays and also started writing her own songs. A trip to Austin’s SXSW music showcase in the late ’80s convinced Maura to relocate her band there, although all but one of the original Delta Rays opted out of the move.
After Pete and Maura’s fateful 1992 meeting (the subject of their first Appleseed CD’s title song, “Half a Million Miles”) and several years of touring and recording with Nanci Griffith, the duo seceded amicably from Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra and became The Kennedys, recording CDs that encompass their favorite musical styles while incorporating the naturalistic, transcendental and mythological teachings of Joseph Campbell, Eckhart Tolle, Walt Whitman, and various Eastern-oriented philosophers into their songs and lives. Their goal is to live in the moment, appreciating every second of sensation, which imbues their music with a constant sense of wonder and freshness.
With the release of their tenth CD as The Kennedys and recent CDs by their Strangelings and Stringbusters side projects added to their discography, Pete and Maura remain the Energizer bunnies of the folk/rock world. Their touring schedule makes Bob Dylan seem lazy – they’ve played about 1500 gigs in the last 12 years, everywhere from house concerts to major festivals. And when they’re not recording, performing, or conducting monthly guitar workshops, they’re airing their favorite music on their “Dharma Café” show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio’s channel 70.
Every day, we live through four seasons. From the spring of early morning to the deep winter of night, where we wade through shifting blizzards of dreams. Winterlings dwell in this season, with pens in our fists and paintbrushes gripped in our teeth, giving birth by starlight, lifting songs from the ocean of sleep...
If you lean like a seedling towards the saffron pouring from the sky. If you leave your room at sunset so fire-rimmed mountains might fill your eyes. If you bend to your lover’s lips as the sea-wind bends a kite. If you carry with you, though secret and slight, a sliver of infinite night. You are a Winterling.
Wolff and Amanda met one night at a party where a Buddhist ritual had just taken place in a backyard fire pit. The ritual consisted of writing, on small slips of paper, wishes that would burn in the flames so their smoke might lift them into the wind and make them real. Wolff burned his wish and Amanda arrived an hour later. She was the muse and the music he had been waiting for, and his life as an artist re-awakened her desire for a creative life.
Wolff and Amanda sold their cars on Ebay, bought a banged-up van from a motorcycle shop, and drove to Oregon where they knew no one. They rented a small apartment next to a large forest and wrote the songs for their first album: On The Night You Were Born. This album, released under the name of The Orphan Trains, supported a second trip to Oregon where Amanda and Wolff slipped into a blue cocoon, wrote their new album, THE ANIMAL GROOM, and became...
The Winterlings.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
Although she is most familiar to folk audiences as a founding member of the female trio Red Molly, Carolann began her musical journey as a solo performer. In the late 1990s, she abandoned a comfortable theatrical career and leapt headlong into the teeming pool of singer-songwriters in her hometown of New York City. Armed with a powerful voice and percussive guitar style, she soon found herself swimming in the downtown club scene, recording her first solo album, “Just Across the Water” (2000), and establishing her own independent label, Elizabeth Records, to release it.
In very short order, the soloist became one-fourth of a quartet, folk-pop group CC Railroad – and later, one-third of a trio, Red Molly.
Nine years after the birth of the label, the founder of Elizabeth Records returned to the fold to release her second solo album, the tenth under its umbrella, “Glass of Desire”(2009).
In August 2010, Carolann stepped aside from Red Molly after six years of steady touring to better balance career and family responsibilities. She is currently pursuing solo opportunities and planning her next record, due for release in 2011. Carolann lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and young son.
Selected Discography:
Solo:
Glass of Desire (2009)
Just Across the Water (2000)
with Red Molly:
James (2010)
Love and Other Tragedies (2008)
Never Been to Vegas (2006)
Red Molly (2005)
with CC Railroad:
Black Horse Motel (2004)
Smile Whatever (2001)
At the age of 19, Anna Coogan found herself in Salzburg, Austria, studying opera in a language she did not yet know. She explains: “I’m not exactly sure how I got there- a series of good auditions and better luck. I did not speak a word of German when I first got there-- it was a crash course.”
Somewhat bewildered by the pressures of being in the prestigious world of opera, Anna shocked the old guard at the Mozarteum by singing American show tunes for recitals, and missing class to go skiing in the Austrian Alps. “I love opera, but I never could relate to the music. It did not feel like mine. I’d show up burnt from the mountains, unable to sing very well, and be in a load of trouble with my teachers.”
Homesick and lovesick for the man she would later marry, Anna returned to the US in 2001, swearing off music for good. She re-enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle and began to a degree in Evolutionary Biology. It was in late 2001, sometime after the events of September 11, that Anna first heard Alison Krauss sing. “I had never heard any sort of country music until that point. I grew up on the Beatles, on opera and old 1960’s folk music. Hearing old-time music changed the course of my life, yet again. I was hooked.”
Finally finding music that she could relate to, Anna picked up her old guitar and started hammering out old-time, two chord songs. She wrote her first song, played her first gig, and formed the band “Anna Coogan and north19” in a matter of months.
After only a year together, Anna Coogan and north19 released their first full length record, Glory, on local country-noir label Tarnished Records. The positive reception surprised the young band, who went from playing open stages and coffeeshops to selling out the larger clubs in the region. Glory rose to the top of local station KEXP’s charts, and the band was featured live in-studio on the show “Swinging Doors”. The record sold well across the US and Europe, rose to number 13 on the FAR charts, and was featured on national and local TV.
After the 2007 release of sophomore album Sleepwalker, which was mixed by Grammy winner S. Husky Huskolds (Norah Jones, Tom Waits) and featured on ABC series “Kyle XY”, Anna Coogan and north19 quietly retired. Anna once again found herself rootless in the music world: “After all we put into north19, it was sad to see it go.” She says, “But it was time.”
Since the late 2007 split of the band, Anna has taken to the road as a solo artist, this time backed by fiance Brooks Miner on keyboards and musicians on both coasts. Armed with a load of new songs, Anna and Brooks are heading into the studio in July 2009, with the help of producer JD Foster (Patty Griffin, Calexico), engineer Geoff Hazelrigg, and longtime drummer Eric Hastings. The summer of 2009 will be a busy one for the couple, with a European tour (featuring a slot at the prestigious Blue Balls Festival in Switzerland), making a record, and finally, their long-awaited wedding.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
Born in Madrid, Spain, raised in Chicago and holding dual Irish and American citizenship, singer/guitarist and songwriter Sarah McQuaid lived in Ireland from 1994 to 2007. She has since moved with her husband and two children to the home formerly occupied by her parents near Penzance, Cornwall.
I Won’t Go Home ’Til Morning, the long-awaited follow-up to her acclaimed debut album When Two Lovers Meet, marked a distinct change of focus for the musician whose rich voice has been likened to “matured cognac”. Whereas her first album was a feast of Irish music, this is an enchanting celebration of old-time Appalachian folk, with Sarah’s arrangements punctuated by her own fine compositions and a cover of Bobbie Gentry’s classic ‘Ode to Billie Joe’.
Crow Coyote Buffalo, an album of songs co-written by Sarah with fellow Penzance resident Zoë (author and performer of 1991 hit single ‘Sunshine On A Rainy Day’) under the band name Mama, has also been garnering rave reviews since its January 2009 release; one critic described the pair as “Two pagan goddesses channeling the ghost of Jim Morrison”.
Sarah’s third solo album, provisionally titled The Plum Tree And The Rose, focuses both on early music (including Elizabethan material as well as songs in Old French, Old Occitan, Italian, Middle High German and Latin) and on originals inspired by such topics as Bess of Hardwick and the garden created at Kenilworth by Robert Dudley for Elizabeth I. Its release is expected sometime in 2010.
As might be expected of one who has led such a peripatetic existence, Sarah developed a taste for the road early on: From the age of twelve she was embarking on ten-day tours of the US and Canada with the Chicago Children’s Choir. At eighteen she went to France for a year to study philosophy at the University of Strasbourg, where her performance at a local folk club drew a rave review in the Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, saluting the “superbe chanteuse d’outre-Atlantique qui fit passer comme une vibration émotionnelle dans une salle conquise” (superb singer from across the Atlantic who caused an emotional vibration to pass through a conquered hall)!
In 1994, Sarah moved to Ireland, where she became a weekly folk music columnist for the Evening Herald and a contributor to Hot Press magazine. She is also the author of a guitar tutor, The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book, described by The Irish Times as “a godsend to aspiring traditional guitarists,” and has presented workshops on the DADGAD tuning at festivals and venues across the UK and Ireland.
In the autumn of 1997, she recorded her debut solo album, When Two Lovers Meet, featuring traditional tunes and songs along with one original number. “Sarah’s voice is both as warm as a turf fire and as rich as matured cognac.... An astonishing debut by a unique talent,” wrote the Rough Guide To Irish Music. Despite the critical acclaim, a long break from the music scene followed, during which Sarah married Feargal Shiels and had two children, Eli and Lily Jane.
When Two Lovers Meet was re-released in Ireland on 23 February 2007. Sarah’s ensuing nationwide tour was highly successful, thanks in large part to a very well-received appearance on The View, the acclaimed arts television show hosted by John Kelly on RTÉ1. On 30 July 2007, the album had its first UK release. The December 2007 edition of fRoots described it as “a masterclass in restraint and subtlety. Authoritative singing and quietly insistent arrangements make for a sumptuous whole – recommended.” Tracks from the album were included in FolkCast’s December 2007 “artists of the year” podcast and in Crooked Road host Mike Ganley’s Top Ten picks for 2007.
The move to the other side of the Irish Sea was triggered by the death in 2004 of her mother, in whose former home she now lives and to whom I Won’t Go Home ’Til Morning (a title taken from the lyrics of album opener ‘The Chickens They Are Crowing’) is dedicated.
Says Sarah: “My first album was immersed in Irish traditional music, which I still love – but this time round, I felt the need to revisit the Southern Appalachian songs and tunes that I learned during my childhood. My mother was my introduction to folk music. She never performed professionally, but she had a lovely natural style of singing and guitar playing.
“All the songs on this recording have powerful emotional resonances for me, and all are connected in one way or another to my mother. Looking back, I guess it was kind of a cathartic process.”
Like its predecessor, I Won’t Go Home ’Til Morning was recorded in Trevor Hutchinson’s Dublin studio and produced by Gerry O’Beirne. Both also guest on the album, alongside percussionist Liam Bradley, Máire Breatnach on fiddle and viola and Rosie Shipley on fiddle.
DADGAD Irish Guitar Workshop with Sarah McQuaid
WORKSHOP - $20 Advance/$25 Door, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Sarah McQuaid is the author of a guitar tutor, The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book, described by The Irish Times as “a godsend to aspiring traditional guitarists,” and has developed a 90-minute workshop entitled An Introduction To DADGAD, which she has presented at festivals, arts centres, private homes and other venues around the UK and Ireland. The workshop presents the basics of traditional Irish playing for intermediate and advanced guitarists. Please bring your instruments. The book is available on Amazon.com for $17.05.
A comment from one attendee:
“I really enjoyed your workshop and I liked the way you made sure there was something for everyone. Each one of us had come along with widely different expectations and experience but you overcame this by adapting to the way the flow was going.
“As someone who has dabbled in open tunings, including DADGAD, for 35 years without really knowing what I was doing I certainly got a lot out of the session, which was also my first ‘guitar lesson’!
“For me it was useful to have read your Irish DADGAD Guitar Book beforehand but this was by no means a necessary requirement for a participant to benefit from the workshop. I liked too the impromptu illustrations using guitar parts taken from songs and instrumentals on your CDs. Your insight into chord structures and scales cast a new light on the reason why an open tuning like DADGAD works, in contrast to my previous hit-and-miss, limited attempts at picking out chords that sound nice.
“I’m sure I speak for other participants when I give a big thank you for an excellent workshop, which I would recommend to any guitarist.”
—Adrian Vranch (Devon, UK)
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
CD RELEASE PARTY! Philadelphia’s blues and soul drenched vocalist and songwriter, Deb Callahan will be celebrating the release of her 4th CD tonight entitled “Tell it like it is”. She has recorded 9 new original tunes as well as covers by Tina Turner and Bob Dylan. Deb grew up in the Boston area but has been a fixture on the mid-Atlantic music scene since the late 90’s. During this time she has gained a reputation for writing creative blues, soul and roots influenced original music and using her powerful, emotionally expressive voice and engaging stage presence to deliver a unique, high energy live show. Doing social work in the heart of Philadelphia would be a good place to learn about life’s hard knocks and this urban school ground taught singer/songwriter Deb Callahan well. Her rich, honest and soulful tunes resonate with listeners and run the gamut from soulful ballads to upbeat, dance oriented romps
Her most recent effort Grace & Grit was released in September of 2008 and recently debuted in November of 2008 at #16 for The Living Blues Radio Chart. Deb once again collaborated with producer Chris Arms and featured original music as well as a cover of one of her favorite Ray Charles songs “Hallelujah I love him so” and a few a capella snippets of songs sung by Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell and Aretha Franklin who have all been strong influences. One of the goals of this record was to go for a more live sound to capture the energy and spontaneity that live performance can bring. Thus all the vocal tracks were recorded with the band live in the studio. Grace & Grit has a strong blues base but brings in gospel, soul, rock and jazz elements and the material ranges from songs about being a single mother trying to make it in America in “Food on the Table” to the humorous No Taxi Driver about receiving to many wrong number calls from people who are looking for a taxi.
Blues Revue Magazine says of Grace & Grit “Deb Callahan possesses an instinctive feel for the blues. As a songwriter, Callahan’s gift lies in bringing fresh perspectives to classic lyrical themes. Vocally she understand her strengths a pure, resonant tone and expressive phrasing and employs them to great effect. She also stands as a first rate song interpreter.” Jazzreview.com says “ Her powerful, soul-tinged bluesy vocals showcase both an abundance of grace along with more than just a smidgen of grit. On the grace/grit scale, she weighs in heavily alongside the finest female blues belters ever. In fact, the potent force of her vocals should secure her presence on the national blues scene for years.”
Deb’s 2002 debut CD If the Blues Had Wings, garnered her positive acclaim from the blues and roots community and was featured as the hot debut in the Oct/Nov 2004 issue of Blues Revue Magazine. Blues Revue referred to her as the next Bonnie Raitt and raved "Philly’s Deb Callahan has the pipes, the songs and the raw talent to graduate to the next level". Deb released her sophomore CD The Blue Pearl in November 2005 where she teamed up with producer and song-writer Chris Arms, to craft a contemporary sounding CD with all the elements of timeless blues, soul and rock music. From the New Orleans blues/funk of the title track "Blue Pearl Moon " to the marriage of traditional and modern in the "Credit Card Blues ". Deb incorporates thoughtful and often funny lyrics to tell a modern day blues tale. In a review of The Blue Pearl, Living Blues described Deb as a “gifted song-writer whose voice is matchless in the ring of sultry blues singers”.
Since 2005, Deb Callahan and her band have become part of the national blues scene with performances at festivals on both sides of the country, including California’s Monterey Bay Blues Festival and Florida’s Springing the Blues Festival, The Boundary Water Blues Festival in Ely, MN Cookin at McCooks in Niantic, CT, as well as many fests in the mid-Atlantic region such as The Western Maryland Blues Festival in Hagerstown, MD, The Heritage Festival in Wheeling, West Virginia, Red Bank Blues Fest in Red Bank, NJ, The Philadelphia Blues Festival at The World Cafe Live, The Berks Blues and Jazz Festival in Reading, PA, Lehigh Valley Blues Fest in Whitehall, PA, The Briggs Farm Festival in Nescopeck, PA, The Greater Eastern Blues Festival in Harrisonburg, VA, The Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival in Anapolis, MD, The Wilmington Blues Festival in Wilmington, DE, The Media Blues Stroll in Media., PA, The Shenandoah Valley Blues Bash, in Luray, VA, The Central Delaware Blues & Jazz Festival in Felton, DE, The Safeway BBQ & Blues Fest in Washington DC, The Belair BBQ & Blues Fest in Belair, MD, The Bucks County Blues Society R & B Picnic in Morrisville, PA and many more. She has toured the club circuit up and down the East Coast from Maine to Florida.
Her top notch band consists of Philly greats Allen James on the guitar, Garry Lee on bass and Tom Walling on drums.
Deb’s music has been played at radio stations around the United States and Europe. She has shared the stage with Buddy Guy, Billy Preston, James Cotton, Shemekia Copeland, Hubert Sumlin, Debbie Davies, Savoy Brown, Big Jack Johnson, Sean Costello, The Holmes Brothers, Phil Guy, Deanna Bogart, Ann Rabson, Nick Curran, Southside Johnny, Floyd Lee, NRBQ, Joe Bonamassa, Guitar Shorty, Little Ed and The Imperials, Bob Margolin, Paul Cebar, Tommy Castro, Anthony Gomes, Johhny Lee Hooker Junior, Sister Monica Parker. Marcia Ball, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Duke Robillard, Eric Lindell and more.
Deb Callahan is most often compared to singers such as Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Lydia Pense. She says "for me it is the blues and soul singers that have always gotten to my gut which includes people like Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Nina Simone, Otis Redding, Billie Holiday, Buddy Guy, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Bessie Smith, Joan Osborne, Ray Charles, Al Green and Mavis Staples and Irma Thomas…to name a few.
"This young singer-songwriter slings Chicago blues as well as anyone in the country"
-Insite Boston Magazine
The Lydia Warren Band’s fifth release, Turn It Up, is a no-holds-barred blues/rock statement. Lydia Warren slings her guitar and belts her songs, leading the rest of her trio while they lay solid grooves under catchy hooks. The scorned lover in “DNR” and “Goody Two Shoes” picks up lyrically where blues greats like Robert Johnson and Big Mama Thornton left off. “Paper Cup” tells the classic tale of being walked all over- and liking it. The title track uses AC/DC-meets-Magic Sam guitars to show what happens when you tell this group to keep quiet.
The Lydia Warren Band has played internationally, from Montreal to Beirut, Memphis to New York, Chicago to D.C. The Boston-based blues trio honed it’s skills opening for B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Rick Derringer, Buckwheat Zydeco and playing at FestiBlues (Montreal, 60,000 attendees annually), The Jonesboro Bluesfest (AR), The Boston Blues Festival (MA), The Stadium Theatre (RI), The Marshfield Fair (MA), The New Boston Blues Festival (NH), The Seafood Festival (NH, 20,000 attendees annually), The Scallop Festival (MA), Wachusett Music Festival (NH), the Barnstable County Fair (MA) the NEMO Music Conference and The Rochester Opera House (NH). They have also been nominated for a Boston Music Award and appeared on NBC’s Today Show. Drummer Warren Grant endorses Vader drumsticks and has played everywhere from the Apollo Theater to the Montreaux Jazz Festival. He has worked with Smokey Robinson, Terry Ellis (En Vouge), Maria Muldaur and many others. Lydia Warren is also and in-demand educator, and has taught private and group instruction at Burlington’s Real School, Yamaha in Lexington, Minuteman Regional, Newton Community Education and Arlington Public Schools. Topics include blues history, songwriting, and all levels of voice and guitar. Lydia endorses Dean Markley strings.
Lydia Warren is on a solo tour to bring her music to new audiences on the East coast.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
Steve Giordano and Carla Jenkins, both of the Philadelphia area, have created a new musical form and CD recording. Carla's lyrics and voice are clean, pure and fresh - like a sorbet served with Steve's original gourmet musical compositions. Steve and Carla together are refreshment for the listener's palette - cleansing and heightening the taste and aroma of the complete piece. In a world of excesses, the Giordano-Jenkins collaboration offers a light, airy, floating, sense to life's most heartfelt, visceral moments: such as, the memory of THE FAWN and SAMBA FIVE, and the exquisite longing for love in A BEAUTY WITHIN, AFTERGLOW, and THROUGH TIME. Steve composes in an Impressionistic Style blending the influence of Progressive Jazz with Impressionistic composers such as Debussy and Ravel. Carla's artistry goes beyond that of a singer to reach celestial heights of sensitivity and imagination. This collaboration gives the world precious gems of musicality, poetry, and sounds that are developing into a new genre of music.
Steve is well known and respected as a composer, world class guitarist, and recording artist, as well as a teacher who generously makes his musical knowledge and methods accessible to students over the Internet. Steve reveals his influences and philosophy of music in his forthcoming book, MUSIC IS THE TEACHER, IF YOU LISTEN.
Steve has given master classes at The University of the Arts, Temple University, Bucks County Community College, West Chester University, and recently, Accademia di Chitarra Moderna in Catania, Sicily.
Steve's career highlights include:
Playing in the Chico Hamilton quintet in the late 70s; Jimmy Smith, early 80s; Don Patterson, mid 80s; and Richard "Groove" Holmes, early 80s.
Touring Europe with Richard "Groove" Holmes, Willis Jackson, John Blake (duo), and recently as a guest in various cities in Italy.
Debut album by Giordano, DAYBREAK ... Muse label,1980.
RECORDINGS:
Steve Giordano’s Spacetet, TIMELINE ... Dreambox Recording
SEA DREAMS
UTOPIA
Steve Giordano’s High Standards Quartet, JAZZ CHRISTMAS
On the Horn Records
Richard “Groove” Holmes, SHIPPIN OUT ... Muse Records
Trudy Pitts, FREEDOM CHILD ... Edman Records
Willis Jackson, YA UNDERSTAND ME ... Muse Records
John Swana, THE FEELING'S MUTUAL ...Criss Cross Jazz
Carla Jenkins - award wining singer, lyricist, actress, model, and sculptor, has been performing classical, pop, and musical theater roles since she was 14 years old. Her academic and professional education has given her both a breadth and depth in knowledge of poetry, music, and performance. She was an early admission to the University of the Arts for her formal training in voice, music, dance and acting, - debuting the role, Maria, in the SOUND OF MUSIC. Jenkins continued her formal education at Franklin & Marshall College with courses in post-modern drama and directing with Gordon Wickstrom. At Millersville University, she studied music and applied arts and was the lead singer for the Millersville Jazz Band. To sharpen her acting skills, Carla studied privately with Louise Lasser, NYC, and Gary and Mary Smith, founders and directors of the successful Theater of the Seventh Sister, PA. To round out her artistic approaches, Carla studied at Moore College of Art & Design, Phila., Pa.
Carla studied voice with the renowned Winnifred Dettore Swift, Paul Gavert, Harold Parker, and Fred Waring.
Carla studied dance with the following teachers:
Jazz with Phil Black, NYC, and at Broadway Dance Center and at Steps, also NYC.
Ballet and Contemporary at Broadway Dance Center and Steps, and Ballet with Monique Legare, Lisa Collins-Vidnovic, and Eva Szabo, Phila., Pa.
Jenkins earned her membership in Actors Equity during her performance as a dancer/singer in a Connecticut production of Sweet Charity.
Some of Carla's favorite performances in musical theater were Zeitel in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF,Tuptim in THE KING AND I, Linda Lou in BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, Ruth in SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, Irene Malloy in HELLO DOLLY, Pegeen Ryan in AUNTIE MAME, and Ensign Connie Walewska, SOUTH PACIFIC.
Carla was a featured soloist for WE THE PEOPLE 200 Celebration, Phila. Pa., PENNSY POPS ORCHESTRA at the Keswick Theatre, FRED WARING AND THE PENNSYLVANIANS, THE MISS LOUISIANA USA PAGEANT, NATIONAL WELSH AMERICAN FOUNDATION, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY TELETHON, TALENT WINNER AND 1st runner up in the MISS PENNSYLVANIA PAGENT.
The first CD Carla produced is entitled, GRASPING THE SERPENT, on which she is vocalist, lyricist, creative director and graphic artist.
Carla's latest accomplishment was finding Steve Giordano and convincing him she was worthy of his attention. Steve was delighted with her artistry and her creativity in marrying new vocal styling to his original compositions - and their collaboration produced a new genre of music that is pure and clear, lyrical and complex in composition COMBINING BEAUTIFUL ROMANTIC BALLADS WITH BRAZILIAN SAMBA AND BOSSA NOVA.
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Saturday, November 20 PETER BRADLEY ADAMS "a beautiful set of Americana music...It confirms the dreamy-voiced Adams as an artist to follow." |
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
Peter Bradley Adams is one half of the recently re-united duo, Eastmountainsouth, signed by Robbie Robertson (of The Band) to DreamWorks Records in 2002. Peter co-produced their debut album with Mitchell Froom, and the duo toured extensively opening for Lucinda Williams, Tracy Chapman, and performed their final show at the Hollywood Bowl opening for Lyle Lovett and Shelby Lynn.
Since then, Adams has released three solo records: "Gather Up", "Leavetaking", and his most recent, "Traces", in October 2009 on Sarathan Records.
Peter's music has appeared in 40+ films and television shows including recent placements in CBS' “The Mentalist” , CW’s “One Tree Hill”, ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters” as well as the Miramax Film, film “Everbody’s Fine” starring Robert De Niro
"Adams is fast developing as a songwriter who both inspires and questions" - Nic Harcourt / Los Angeles Times Magazine - Jan 2010
XM Satellite Radio’s “The Loft” named him “Notable New Artist of The Year” in 2006.
And the The Wall Street Journal named Peter in November of 2008 one of the “21st-century writers whose songs are worth exploring.”
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
From big budget major label record deals to self-financed recordings, Philadelphia-based singer and songwriter Ben Arnold has seen both sides of the proverbial coin. It's a journey that has no doubt informed his songwriting. But, despite the highs and lows, Ben finds himself exactly where he's meant to be in his career, a self-sustaining artist composing his finest songs to date, playing to a loyal, ever-expanding audience and on the verge of releasing a new album that is yet another benchmark in his steadily growing discography.
Becoming the first singer-songwriter ever signed to the groundbreaking independent record label Ropeadope, Ben Arnold's new collection of songs, Nevermind My Blues is available nationwide on October 30. The very fact that Ropeadope (a label best known for cutting edge artists like The Benevento-Russo Duo, King Britt, Sex Mob and Tin Hat) would offer a home to an artist in a genre it's never yet navigated speaks volumes about the universal appeal of Ben's artistry.
"We've never had a singer-songwriter in nearly 10 years as a label because we never really felt that anyone had that 'Ropeadope vibe' to them," states label founder Andy Hurwitz. "But when the opportunity to sign Ben came along, we had to go for it. I've been a huge fan for years. He's easily one of my favorite contemporary living artists."
Ben Arnold has toured throughout the United States and Europe with various line-ups both solo and with his rollicking live band. He has shared a stage with everyone from Ryan Adams, David Gray, Ben Folds and Lucinda Williams to Ron Sexsmith, Randy Newman and even a strangely magical week in Holland with Townes Van Zandt. While maintaining a relatively low touring profile during the recording and in the build up to the release of Nevermind My Blues, Ben plans to tour extensively throughout 2007 and 2008.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
Singer-songwriter Dan May's career path has taken more twists and turns than a corkscrew in a hurricane. He has worked as a grave-digger, television cameraman, short-order cook, nuclear missile security guard, gas station attendant, sold clothing in a big and tall store, driven an ice cream truck, coached track, delivered furniture, wrote feature stories for a daily newspaper, unloaded trucks at an amusement park and labored in a greenhouse; all before the age of 25. While studying music composition in college, he inadvertently stumbled upon an opera career that would see him singing with opera companies across the United States as well as Canada, and leaving a promising future as a songwriter behind.
Cut to 15 years later, and after a vocal chord surgery that left him no longer able to meet the demands of opera, Dan returned to doing what he does best; writing and performing his own songs. Since his cross-over from classical to popular music, Dan has hit the ground running. With two critically-acclaimed albums under his belt, The Long Road Home, is an impressive follow-up that will almost certainly be embraced by fans and critics alike. Produced by GRAMMY-Award winning producer and engineer Glenn Barratt (Melody Gardot, Lizanne Knott, Amos Lee, Jill Scott),
The Long Road Home is a seamless tapestry of unforgettable melodies and clever, engaging lyrics; all delivered in a rich and soulful voice that speaks to both the head and the heart. From the haunting introduction of "Water Under the Bridge" to the lonesome longing of "Nightbird" and the heart-breaking waltz of "Irene," listeners are taken on a musical journey of genres and emotions that will leave them wanting more.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
Pezzettino's Margaret Stutt is a force of nature. Her music is ethereal and haunting, bringing a fantastically different, textural sound to what is decidedly not what you would expect to hear coming out of an accordion. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin based artist is an unexpected combination of grace and gravity, with a firm grasp on who she is and an engaging sense of humor; you want to be her friend, and you can't help becoming a fan.
On songs like the plaintive, piano driven Territorial and the darker, more gritty, Walk From Here, Pezzettino's classically trained pianist shines like a beacon to the unbroken, a show of solidarity in survival. Entrenched in life and the living of it, Margaret Stutt has a lot to say. The world would do well to listen up.
Margaret was trained on classical piano at the local convent until age 12, when she quit because she didn't like the pressure of competition. She has a BA in Art History and MA in Oriental Medicine. At age 25 she called off an engagement, joined a band, and taught herself how to play her father's accordion. "The songs just began pouring out, it was like opening a flood gate." Less than six months later, she released her first album and began touring as a solo artist. "Pezzettino" translates to "little piece" or "little square" in Italian, and depending on how strict copyright laws are, it may or may not be a reference to the children's illustration book by Leo Lionni.
CONCERT - $16 Advance/$20 Door, 8:00 pm
"Andreas Kapsalis is a real-deal artist with a deep soul and a totally original voice. He has always taken my breath away with his unique and evolutionary style of guitar playing but, now that he's found a forum of expression as a film composer, he has crossed into a new realm with an expanded pallet that's truly awe inspiring."
- Doreen Ringer-Ross, VP of Film and Television Relations, BMI
"For Black Gold, Andreas created the perfected marriage between music and picture. It was always our intention for the music to reflect the juxtaposition and inter-connectedness of the two worlds the film moves between, and Andreas realized this ambition with passion and perfection. By fusing African sounds and rhythms into a distinctly caffeinated score, he produced a cinematic experience which speaks to a global audience."
- Nick and Marc Francis, produced and directed Sundance documentary film Black Gold
The Andreas Kapsalis Trio represents the perfect alliance of eight-fingered guitar virtuosity, outstanding melodic themes, and rhythmic variation on percussion. Backed by drummer Jamie Gallagher and multi-instrumentalist Darren Garvey, the Andreas Kapsalsis Trio’s second album Original Scores is now available.
Original Scores is the Andreas Kapsalis Trio’s follow up to 2004’s self-titled debut. The years between have found the trio touring the country and composing music for film. Andreas was awarded a Fellowship Grant to attend the Sundance Film Composers Lab in 2005 and chosen to compose the film score for the documentary Black Gold which premiered at Sundance in 2006. Other films include Mulberry Street, Mexican Sunrise, and Retaliation.
The film connection has had an obvious influence on the writing of Original Scores. The music morphs from resembling your favorite movie soundtrack to a freak circus to full out thrash to subtle ballads. Elements of Americana, flamenco, Greek, African, and Arabic music are part of the mix, each receiving equal time. The musicianship and instrumentation make this a must-see live performance. Now in its sixth year, the Andreas Kapsalis Trio has become a force in Chicago’s underground music scene.
The PSALM Salon - Philadelphia's Premiere Quality Listening Room
PSALM Salon Technical Information/Booking
REVIEWS AND KUDOS
"One of Philadelphia's most welcoming and intimate venues in a gorgeous old house in Overbrook Farms.
Going to PSALM has all the virtues of a house concert with a sound system worthy of a club,
inspired booking, and plenty of street parking!" "One of my favorite venues!"
– Michaela Majoun, WXPN Morning Show Host
"The PSALM is a dream performance space. Perfect acoustics, top quality production values, a visually lovely setting,
and an overall aesthetic ambience that, like a tea ceremony, lifts every gesture to it's highest level.
It's perfection, both for the audience and the performers."
– Pete Kennedy, The Kennedys
"...the PSALM, where artists conduct and discuss their work
in a seemingly nondenominational spiritual space.
The twinkle of burning candles in Depression glass, the scent of sandalwood: It's all here."
– A. D. Amorosi, The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Congrats on a beautiful, intimate, warm and sweet space for music to emerge, inspire and uplift.
Great sound system and first rate performers. I loved the spirit. Just wonderful."
– Andrea Clearfield, Composer and Pianist; Andrea's Music Salon
"I was first struck by the beautiful space, then by your warmth and generous hospitality and sweet family,
then last but not least, the gorgeous, delicious sound! Thank you for all these gifts you give to bands and audiences weekly!"
– Glen Roethel, Gathering Time
"At the end of our Northeast Tour, we played at... Philadelphia’s PSALM Salon,
which is run by a wise world-wanderer and truly joyful being. We treasured our time at... PSALM"
– Wolff Bowden, The Orphan Trains / Artist / Poet
"Thank you for an amazing evening last night. How inspiring!! Such a rich tapestry of music, love, sensitivity, joy, community and that indescribable thing that happens when these elements occur together. And you make it all quite effortless by creating just the right ambience. Your amazing skill at music engineering takes the music to another level. It is wonderful to see all of your years in designing audio gear morph into your spiritual path and result in all this."
– Michael London, PhD, Singer/Songwriter
" Everyone in Dzieci has been glowing from our welcoming encounter with you. It is rare for us to find a place we unanimously and enthusiastically agree to return to. The warmth and care you and your family bestowed, supported us to reach new heights with both Makbet and Fools Mass. We return to NY with that miraculous feeling one has after a week-long retreat.
Thank you so much, we look forward to further meetings on the path"
– Matt Mitler, Company Director, Theatre Group Dzieci
"Thanks Jamey and thanks for your amazing venue and exceptional attention to details. You are really doing something right which should bring you greater and greater success. All the best of luck to you and PSALM Salon."
– Dale Melton, The Melton Brothers Band
"Psalm Salon is the BEST LISTENING room in the tri state area!!!"
– Terri Thimm, A fan
"Every musician knows about PSALM and is dying to play here, it has the best reputation."
–Lili Anel, Singer/Songwriter
"I love the PSALM Salon!!"
– Linda Lewis, Creative Entertainment
Watch a sample YouTube Artist Interview below, or visit our channel at www.youtube.com/user/thePSALMsalon for more interviews
Read the 09/16/09 City Paper Cover Story and Jamey Reilly Interview by music critic A.D. Amorosi, and a great 11/24/09 review - "Outta Leftfield" by Mike Morsch, executive editor of the Montgomery Newspapers. View the video interview of master frame drummer, Glen Velez, by Lori Cotler at the PSALM Salon on 11/14/09. Read the 8/29/10 Origivation Blog review by Brenda Hillegas.
The PSALM Salon is Philadelphia's premiere small space for serious listening. It boasts an audiophile quality sound and multi-track recording system in an acoustically pristine space, allowing guests to experience world class performances with ultimate clarity in a stately old Philadelphia mansion, which is also the home of PSALM Chairman, Jamey Reilly (facebook) and his wife, Suyun.
The professionally appointed salon theater has intimate sight lines from all 60 cushioned seats. It is a space for performers to connect with guests one on one, which inevitably results in stellar performances. Artists accustomed to performing in multi-thousand seat venues enjoy performing at the PSALM Salon because of the warmth, intamacy and wonderfully vibrant atmosphere. The PSALM Salon is proud to be ASCAP and BMI licensed which means that songwriters, composers and music publishers the world over are compensated for their music which is performed in our venue. PSALM is honored to have been selected by Google Inc. as a Google Grant recipient.
The PSALM Salon is reminiscent of the old-world salons of Europe, where the cultural cognoscenti would gather to experience and discuss the works of the leading artists of the day. These salons were typically hosted within the homes of the artist's patrons, and provided a venue for artists to extend their craft, and make important connections with their supporters. The PSALM welcomes musicians, dancers, thespians, authors and performance artists of renown from the the world over representing the full spectrum of style and genre. As such, the PSALM is a crucible where cultures and ideas cross pollinate to produce events of singular depth and beauty. It is in many ways a laboratory, exploring the alchemy of creative shared experience.
Founded in 2004, the PSALM Salon now produces one full season per year. The PSALM Salon has featured the highest caliber performers of local, regional, national and international repute on our humble stage. All performances are multi-track recorded for archives and potential release. Listen to a cut from a recent concert by Australian folk-rocker Anne McCue. Every full performance is streamed live on the internet, and archived for free viewing anytime. Soon we hope to have HD video production capacity in place as well! We are proud to offer prix fixe gourmet buffet dinners in association with Chef Gatti of Avril Restaurant at each show, and welcome BYO.
Doors Open 7:30 pm - All Performances Begin 8:00 pm. The PSALM Salon is an all ages venue and older children are welcome. Free parking is available on-street and public transportation is easily accessible. Guests are welcome to BYO beer or wine (21 and older). The PSALM Salon often features gallery style exhibits of fine artwork and photography produced by established local artists. The artists are frequently on hand during performances to discuss and sell their work. Exotic imported jewelry and women's clothing is also on sale. Regular email announcements are sent to our private opt-in mailing list.
Advance price tickets may be purchased securely online for a small convenience fee. Advance price tickets plus a service charge equivalent to the online convenience fee may be purchased at the box office by appointment - via credit card, check or cash up to the day prior to the performance. Even with the convenience fee or service charge, there is still a small savings over buying full price tickets. We can hold phoned-in ticket reservations for will-call but only at full price. Full price tickets may also be purchased at the door the evening of the performance via credit card, check or cash.
Cancellation policy: If a show is cancelled due to weather or acts beyond our control, we will post the information on this website for the performance affected. You may also call 215-477-7578 for information. We do not provide refunds, but you may use your tickets for any subsequent show of your own choosing. Likewise, if you call to notify us that you will not be able to attend a performance, for any reason, by 5:00 pm the date of the performance, you may use your tickets for another show, or you may donate them to friends. If however, you do not call ahead and miss the performance, you will lose your tickets, and the band will be paid for your seats.
PSALM Salon Membership Has Real Benefits!
PSALM Members receive a $5 cash rebate at the door for each performance
and a $10 rebate for each workshop (for advance or door sales). That's a savings of over 30%.
...and PSALM annual membership is only $35 per year for individuals or $70 for families!!
We are also excited to announce that our members get a standing 10% discount at the very classy
Avril BYOB Restaurant just by showing a PSALM member card!
Individual Annual Membership |
Family Annual Membership |
Donate to PSALM |
Secure online processing is handled by our production partner VirtuaLux Inc, via PayPal
(You don't need an account to use PayPal... you can use a credit card)
PSALM gratefully acknowledges your generous support. Our charitable giving adviser Emily J. Carr wishes to remind you that your donations are fully tax deductible and announces the formation of PSALM's Charitable Giving Annuity Fund. Please contact us for details on how this exciting program can help PSALM to realize its mission while providing you with tax free annuities for your lifetime. Your donations allow PSALM to produce the PSALM Salon, and other worthwhile projects that promote human unity within world diversity.
We welcome new volunteers to help with our shows, and will accept interns from local universities seeking experience with live production. We always need help with our recording program and office/artist relations management.
PSALM supports "Feed the Muse", a pain free online resource for musicians and other creative types to help fund their vision.
Please support PSALM's Video Installation Project! PSALM is raising funds to install a professional high definition video and post-production system to produce community TV programming of all performances and artist interviews, as well as providing live video streaming to the web, upload to video web archives like YouTube, and produce a DVD library of our one of a kind shows. Says recording artist Craig Bickhardt, "I've played just about everywhere, and I can tell you, there is not another place like this anywhere else in the USA. This is truly special, and deserves your full support." We now have in place limited capacity to stream video at standard definition, but lack the ability to capture high definition video from multiple cameras, and produce professionally edited broadcast quality video. We ask that you take a moment now to help us reach our first stage goal of $17,000 and offer our sincerest thanks for supporting our dream of sharing our unique performances with the world. PSALM is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit, and all of your donations are fully tax deductable. |
Going West (12 traffic lights from the Route 76 exit): Follow City Line Ave. (Rt 1 South) past the foot bridge at St. Joseph's University and make the next left, which is Cardinal Avenue. Go one block and turn right onto Overbrook Avenue. The house is toward the end of the block on the right. The G bus stops at the corner. Going East (toward the river): Follow City Line Ave. (Rt 1 North) past the Executive House Apartments to the red "St. Joseph's University" sign on your right. This is 59th St. Turn right, go one block, and turn left onto Overbrook Avenue. The house is 4th on the left. The R5 Overbrook train station is about four blocks from the house. |
Subscribe to the PSALM Salon opt-in mailing list to receive announcements for performances. Your information will not be shared or sold and you may unsubscribe at any time. |
| For those of you in need of local, quality overnight accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel (Philadelphia West) (2.5 miles [12 traffic lights] from PSALM on City Ave. at the I-76 junction) 4100 Presidential Blvd, Philadelphia PA 19131 215-477-0200 Info |
