Andrew McKnight

notloB Folk Concerts
 presents

Andrew McKnight
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Nationally-acclaimed singer/songwriter and guitarist Andrew McKnight celebrates rural America, weaving his masterfully crafted songs, humorous stories and poetic drama into a musical soundscape sketched with shades of Appalachia, tasteful slide and jazzy blues, feisty anthems, and rustic folk.

“Stretching across the landscape of American folk music is a highway paved by Guthrie and Dylan... now Virginia native Andrew McKnight takes his turn smoothing down the blacktop"
(Top 12 DIY selection, Performing Songwriter)

"With a voice reminiscent of Don McLean, McKnight traverses from old-time Appalachian tunes to contemporary folk and blues, all backed up by his dead-on guitar playing"
(The Boston Globe)

"The skillful songwriter's interest in history is revealed in songs such as the Civil War ballad "The Road to Appomattox" and the soldier's elegy "Wind Whispers Your Name."...he avoids stridency by crafting vignettes told from the point of view of those in pain and keeps dourness at bay ... He also works in true folkie tradition, updating lyrics to classic material such as "Worried Man Blues" or reworking Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" to place himself mano-a-devil."
(The Washington Post)

Andrew's website & Facebook

Here’s a video of “Dancing in the Rain" (celebrating the family farm) from a public TV concert in Florida last year
... and Andrew's version of “Crossroads”, from the same show 
... and Andrew's environmental river anthem “The Other Way” from Bob Crownfield’s Studio Session Live show in Hopkinton MA.
... and a free download of Andrew's track for the Still Moving Mountains CD.

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Friday, October 1
A benefit concert / hoot benefit for RESPOND
Unity Church of God
6 William Street (corner College Ave., near Davis Square)
Somerville, MA
Suggested donation $5-10+, all proceeds go to Andrew and the project.
Doors and potluck dinner 6:30
Concert 7:30 - 9:00
Hoot / open sing 9:00-10:00

http://www.respondinc.org

RESPOND’s Mission

Respond, Inc. partners with individuals, families and communities to end the serious public health issue of domestic violence. Respond strives to achieve its mission through prevention, intervention, advocacy and direct services that promote safe, healthy relationships.

Sunday, October 3
norfarG House Concerts, Grafton, MA
Suggested donation $10-15 - all proceeds go to Andrew.
Reservations are required - notlobreservations at gmail dot com
Doors 5:00pm
Pot luck dinner 5:30-6:30pm
Concert 7:00pm

Upcoming notloB concerts

Date	Venue	Artist	Genre	URL
10/07/10	GCTV	Whalebone Farmhouse	Folk / Americana	http://www.myspace.com/whalebonefarmhouse
10/21/10	GCTV	Chuck Williams	Folk	http://www.chuckwilliamsmusic.com/
10/21/10	GCTV	Michael Troy	Folk	http://www.folkmichaeltroy.com/
10/27/10	LGH	David Rovics	Folk	http://www.davidrovics.com/
11/05/10	UCG	Guy Mendilow Band	World	http://www.guymendilow.com/
11/06/10	LGH	Tony Bird	African Folk	http://www.mangotime.net/
11/11/10	GCTV	Debra Cowan	Traditional English Folk	http://www.debracowan.com/
			key:
			UCG	Unity Church of God, Somerville
			GHC	Grafton house concert
			GCTV	Grafton Community Television
			LGH	Loring-Greenough House, JP

http://sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic (website)
http://groups.google.com/group/notlobmusic (mail list)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/notloB-Folk-Concerts/118395891509908 (Facebook fan page)
http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com (blog)

Grafton concert producer going on-air with cable music program

Source

Grafton concert producer going on-air with cable music program

Jeff Boudreau produces a concert series, co-hosts a program on WCUW-FM and will soon be hosting "Blackstone Valley, the Grafton Sessions"" on Grafton Community Television. (T&G Staf/MARK C. IDE)

By Jennifer Michalski SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

A surge of techno-rock escaped from the small, silver cell phone on a table in the Grafton Community Television Studio. After a few seconds of humorously moving his arms and hands to the beat, Jeff Boudreau, clad in a blue floral Hawaiian shirt, turned off the phone and said, "That's not my kind of music."

Mr. Boudreau, a Grafton native and not-for-profit concert producer, prefers the raw instrumentals and storytelling

of folk, new grass, Americana and traditional music, which will be the focus of his new television program, "Blackstone Valley, the Grafton Sessions."

"I've always had a love for traditional and folk music," he said. Boudreau also co-hosts the WCUW-FM program "In the Tradition," a folk, old-time, bluegrass, Celtic and country program, on Tuesday evenings alongside Russ Bellemer.

The TV program, which will be shot in front of a live studio audience every other Thursday evening, will feature performances by local musicians and nationally touring artists who pass through Blackstone Valley. The first taping will be Aug. 26, with performances from Marylou Ferrante, a Millbury native and pre-war blues musician, and The Whiskey Boys, a traditional fiddle and guitar duo composed of recent Berklee College of Music graduates David Delaney and Mark Kilianski.

Mr. Boudreau already has two recordings in the can for "Blackstone Valley, the Grafton Sessions." The date of the program's premiere has not been scheduled yet, but it will feature the bluegrass ballads of Jim Hurst, two-time International Bluegrass Music Association guitar player of the year, who performed at the Grafton television studio in May. The program's second airing will be of Blackstone Valley Bluegrass' July performance on the Grafton Common.

Mr. Boudreau began planning the program in March, while enrolled in an eight-week production course at the Grafton Community Television Studio. Successful completion of the course certified Boudreau as a producer at GCTS and enabled him to create "Blackstone Valley, the Grafton Sessions."

Boudreau compiled a list of performers by first reaching out to contacts he made through years of attending and volunteering at Northeast music festivals. "I had my wish list," he said.

Mr. Boudreau then publicized the show through a Facebook page, media press releases and a mailing list. The season was planned with intentional gaps for last-minute interests or musicians passing through the area, he said.

Committed musicians include Neptune's Car, Wide Open Spaces, Lenny Solomon Band, Andrew McKnight, Whalebone Farmhouse, Chuck Williams and Fall River's Michael Troy, who Mr. Boudreau said, "is a tremendous musician not recognized by commercial media."

The featured musicians are people he admires and respects, Mr. Boudreau said, "many of whom I'm lucky to call personal friends."

Although Mr. Boudreau welcomes musicians interested in performing at a television studio or touring musicians passing through the valley, he said he'll give considerable thought to musicians from the Blackstone Valley area.

"The best music I hear is local," he said. "I gravitate toward small, ensemble playing. I feel that music is personal, authentic... it's real."

Mr. Boudreau said he hopes to bring traditional music to Grafton and "to make this wonderful music genre better known to people that are unfamiliar with it."

Although he doesn't play an instrument, "I've got a very good ear, for talent, for tone," he said. And in 2007, this prompted him to create notloB, "a not-for-profit labor of love," which produces music series in the Boston area. He also created the notfarG house concert series, where artists perform in a home in Grafton (notfarG is Grafton spelled backward). Mr. Boudreau will resume with the concert series in September. For more information, www.facebook.com/pages/notfarG-House-Concerts/113318892031180.

Seating is limited for the tapings of the "Blackstone Valley, the Grafton Sessions. " The studio is at 296 Providence Road, South Grafton. Reservations can be made through notlobreservations@gmail.com.

notfarG House Concerts Presents Bill & Eli Perras

Performers of Original, Inspired, Acoustic Folk & Blues from DeLand, FL

Date: Sunday, June 27, 2010 Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm Location: A private residence in Grafton, MA Street: will be given on registration City/Town: Grafton, MA

The many inspired lyrics given to and interpreted by Eli, combined with Bill's bluesy finger-style guitar playing create a very uniquely modern take on true Americana music in its purest form. Receiving much recognition for their tightly woven musical creativity, they humbly remain true to their personal values. They speak out with strong heartfelt lyrics accompanied by soulful genuine pentatonic rhythms against social injustices, corporate greed, and daily follies in everyday life. They can grip your heart, search your soul, change a mindset, or softly strike a funny bone, all the while leaving the audience with a sentiment for the common good we desire in all mankind.

Bill & Eli have opened for Bill Staines, Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, Michael Smith, John Gorka, Jack Williams, Anne Feeney, Scott Ainslie, Small Potatoes, Emma's Revolution, Paul Geremia, Panama Red and many more nationally recognized entertainers. They are regulars at the many Florida folk music venues and festivals and frequently travel the country sharing their music beyond the Sunshine State.

http://www.bluesgotus.com/

Join us for a potluck dinner (bring an entrée, salad, desert and adult beverage of your choice, coffee and tea are provided) at 6:30.

Concert begins at 7:30pm.

Suggested minimum donation $10, all proceeds to the artists.

Reservations required - notlobreservations|at|gmail|dot|com

notloB Folk Concerts & notfarG House concerts
Website ~ http://sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic
notloB mailing list ~ http://groups.google.com/group/notlobmusic
notfarG mailing list ~ http://www.reverbnation.com/venue/notfarghouseconcerts
Facebook notloB~ http://www.facebook.com/pages/notloB-Folk-Concerts/118395891509908?ref=ts
Facebook notfarG ~ http://www.facebook.com/pages/notfarG-House-Concerts/113318892031180?ref=ts

See http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127449207284427&index=1 for other area concerts.

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notloB Folk Concerts SPRING SEASON!

notloB Folk Concerts

presents

ANNOUNCING THE SPRING SEASON and a RETURN TO NOTLOB'S ORIGINAL HOME, THE LORING-GREENOUGH HOUSE in JAMAICA PLAIN!

Date	Venue	Artist	URL	Suggested Donation
8-Apr	notfarG House Concerts, Grafton	Zoe Mulford	http://zoemulford.com	$10
17-Apr	notloB returns to its first home! the Loring Greenough House	Tri	http://www.triceol.com	$15- at the door; $12- if reservation is made at least 24 hours in advance and Tuesday Club members; $10- for students and seniors; $30- max for families. Addition of a $1/person "preservation fee" that goes to the LG House.
11-Apr	Jackson Homestead, Newton	Hannah Sanders & Liz Simmons	http://www.myspace.com/hannahsanderslizsimmons	$12, $10 for museum members and all making reservations at least 24 hours in advance. $45 immediate family maximum. All donations go to the museum and artist.
1-May	Unity Church of God, Somerville	Tao Rodriguez-Seeger & Friends	http://www.taorodriguezseeger.com/	tba
2-May	Jackson Homestead, Newton	Brendan Hogan	http://brendanhogan.net	$10. $7.50 for museum members and those making reservations at least 24 hours in advance. All donations go to the museum and artist.
14-May	Loring Greenough House	Jim Hurst	http://www.jimhurst.com/	$19 in advance, $24 (if available) at the door + $1 preservation fee.
4-Jun	Unity Church of God, Somerville	Long Time Courting	http://www.longtimecourting.com	$15/door, $12/advance, $5-10 for students, kids, seniors
6-Jun	Jackson Homestead, Newton	Jo Williamson	http://www.jowilliamson.com	$10, $7.50 with advance reservation, $5 children under 12, $50 immediate family max. $7.50 for museum members. All donations go to the museum and artist.
27-Jun	notfarG House Concerts, Grafton	Bill & Eli Perras	http://www.bluesgotus.com/	tba

Jim Hurst, a two-time International Bluegrass Music Association guitar player of the year, will be in the area for several days and available for private lessons and group workshops. Email notlobreservations@gmail.com

Website
notloB mailing list
notfarG mailing list
notloB Facebook
notfarG Facebook

notfarG House Concerts Presents Zoe Mulford

Date:	Thursday, April 8, 2010
Time:	7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location:	A private residence in Grafton, MA

For American singer-songwriter Zoe Mulford, the ordinary is miraculous and the extraordinary happens every day. A city planner recreates a vanished neighborhood. A roadside statue watches over drivers on US Interstate Highway 95. Even the family glassware has a story to tell. Backing her clear vocals with guitar or five-string banjo, she may bring to mind artists from Joni Mitchell to Gillian Welch in the course of a single set.

She intersperses her own songs with selections from the music that inspires them: American and British folk ballads, Old-Time banjo tunes, and the work of songwriters from George Gershwin to Richard Thompson. Her engaging presence and down-to-earth humor strike a chord with diverse audiences – who often sing along.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Zoe learned to play in the old-time picking circles of North Carolina and started touring from Washington DC, where she was nominated "Songwriter of the Year" two years running by the Washington Area Music Association. She has been a finalist in several national songwriting contests, including those at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in New York and the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas.

When her spouse got a job at the University of Manchester, she packed up her instruments and prepared to explore the UK. She has had a warm welcome in folk clubs and acoustic venues around the Northwest and beyond. In 2008, she played at festivals including Brampton Live, the Saddleworth Folk Festival and the Bideford Festival, supported the likes of Martin Carthy and James Keelaghan and shared stages with Ruth Notman and the Askew Sisters. She also continues to tour in the US.

"Bonfires," her third album on Azalea City Recordings, was released in the US in October 2009. Inspired by her experience of English folk clubs, it celebrates the folk tradition from Appalachia to Liverpool.

Zoe has two previous albums on Azalea City. The more recent, “Roadside Saints”, was produced by John Jennings, known for his work with Mary Chapin Carpenter. Released in 2006, it has had radio play across the US, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Ireland and the UK.

In addition to music, Zoe loves farmers' markets, children's books, martial arts movies, and cooking with lots of garlic.

Finalist: GRASSY HILL NEW FOLK COMPETITION, Kerrville Folk Festival 2008
Selected: EMERGING ARTIST SHOWCASE, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival 2007
Nominated: SONG OF THE YEAR (Elegy), ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Roadside Saints), SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR - Washington Area Music Association Awards 2006
FINALIST, Plowshares Songwriting Contest, 2006
Nominated: SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR - Washington Area Music Association Awards 2005
GOLD WINNER, Children's Music, Mid-Atlantic Song Contest 2005
WINNER, Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival Songwriter Contest 2005
WINNER, AvalonFest Rising Star Contest 2005
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Great American Song Contest 2004

“I don't usually like folk music, but that underwear song is pretty good.”
—patron, Taliano's Restaurant, Takoma Park, MD

Pot luck (byob) 6:30
Concert 7:30

Suggested minimum donation $10

Reservations required ~ notlobreservations @ gmail.com

Zoe's website ~ http://zoemulford.com
notfarG website ~ http://sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic/
notfarG mailing list ~ http://www.reverbnation.com/venue/notfarghouseconcerts

LUCKY 13 ~ Benefit concert for the GRAFTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

notloB Folk Concerts

presents

LUCKY 13

Benefit concert for the GRAFTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Time: Doors 4:30, Concert 5:00

Venue: Grafton Historical Society, One Grafton Common

Suggested donation: $15 adults, $10 GHS members and seniors, $5 well-behaved children

Reservations / questions: notlobreservations@gmail.com

Join the notfarG mailing list

To promote the 13th successful year of their independent label, Sonic Underground, decided to release a compilation CD entitled, “Lucky 13" which included artists Cathy Kreger, Marci Geller and Susan DeVita. The release was so well received that they went on the road with it and adopted the group moniker “Lucky 13” officially in summer 2008. Fans from across New England have agreed, this trio features some of the strongest and most talented female vocalists the acoustic scene has to offer. And together, they achieve a harmonic quality transcending each of their individual unique vocal strengths. WVKR FM says; ”I just received Lucky 13 and I love it.” To download Lucky 13 & Marci, Cathy, Susan Bio, click: HERE To download Lucky 13 Radio 1-sheet click: HERE
Cathy Kreger	Marci Geller	Susan DeVita
“Her voice could make a bulldog break his leash to hug a hound!” says one fanatic fan. Armed with only an acoustic guitar and a voice as clear as cool water, Cathy Kreger delivers more pure music per minute than a bevy of roadhouse rockers. Her irresistible voice and guitar has earned her a place on stage with world-class acts, including: Bonnie Raitt, David Bromberg, The Band, Patty Larkin, Maria Muldaur, Taj Mahal and Aztec Two-Step. For over 20 years, this girl and her guitar have been touring throughout the Northeast performing in small theaters, bars, churches, colleges and homes, gathering a devoted following. Her original songs of true-life stories will pierce your heart, evoking tears and laughter along the way. Kreger turns folk, rock, blues, and pop influences into a lyrical and melodic style that is as passionate as it is polished. She has released four CDs to date. Her latest CD release Pure Imagination has garnered rave reviews, securing her a place in the acoustic arena. Singer-songwriter	The founder and co-owner of Sonic Underground, singer/songwriter Marci Geller has a lofty resume. Highlights include performances on Live! With Regis and CNN Worldbeat. She has toured domestically with her band and internationally as the opener and back-up vocalist for Ritchie Blackmore’s group Blackmore’s Night. Her emotionally raw music can be heard in soundtracks on MTV, VH1, PBS, ABC Family, A&E, Discovery Channel, USA Network and others. Her passion and tenacity have enabled her to forge a distinct niche in the independent music arena, resulting in her being named one of the “Top10 Best Singer/Songwriters” by Independent Songwriter Magazine. The piano-based chanteuse invites the world to peek into her musical diary. Called “A Millennium Carole King” by Ear Candy Magazine, she says she’s currently listening to “a lot of Ben Folds and the other artists on this CD.” Read the Celebrity Access Industry profile by Bob Grossweiner: HERE	As a young girl, Susan DeVita fell in love with music while dancing away the Brooklyn afternoons to Beatles records and Sousa marches. When a piano found its way into the house, her singing and composing skills blossomed. Her unique voice and songwriting talents earned her a production contract with legendary record producer Arif Mardin. Paul Atkinson of RCA Records subsequently signed her. After taking a heartfelt sabbatical to raise her sweet “Golden Boy” (son James), Susan has returned to recording and performing with refreshed passion and energy and a cache of exciting new material.

http://www.lucky13.fm/

ANDY COHEN house concert and pot luck dinner - Grafton

notloB Folk Concerts

presents

notfarG House concerts presents

Andy Cohen

Wednesday, March 10

Doors/pot luck @ 6pm
Concert @ 7pm

Andy Cohen grew up in a house with a piano and a lot of Dixieland Jazz records, amplified after a while by a cornet that his dad got him. At about fifteen, he got bitten by the Folk Music bug, and soon got to hear records by Big Bill Broonzy and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, both of which reminded him of the music he grew up to. At sixteen, he saw Rev. Gary Davis, and his course was set. He knew he had it in him to follow, study, perform and promote the music of the southeast quadrant, America¹s great musical fountainhead. Although he's done other things- a certain amount of writing, and physical labor from dishwashing and railroading to archaeology, playing the old tunes is what he does best.

What I do mostly any more, is a sort of Country Blues 101. It¹s broader than that, of course, covering material from before the twenties to about the fifties, and ranging over the several states to which Memphis is adjacent. I grew up during the Sixties Revival in Massachusetts, but I¹m a Southern boy at heart. I made a point of acquainting myself with all the blues players I could, on record and in person. In my shows, I do material by Rev. Davis, John Hurt, Big Bill, Gus Cannon, Frank Stokes, Memphis Minnie, Bukka White, Barbecue Bob, Charlie Patton, Ted Bogan, Henry Spaulding, or any of a hundred other blues people.

SEATING EXTREMELY LIMITED, RESERVATIONS REQUIRED ~ notlobreservations @g mail.com

Suggested minimum donation $10



Andy's website ~ http://www.andycohenmusic.net
More information at ~ http://sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic

Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=308634898272&ref=ts

Winter, 2010 Concerts

Friday, March 12, Red Hot Blacktop @ UCG Somerville

Rescheduled from October, 2009

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival "emerging artist", 2009

Sunday, March 14, Lucky 13@ notfarG House concerts, Grafton

notloB Folk Concerts (Somerville and Newton) are volunteer run and not for profit.
Mailing list ~ http://groups.google.com/group/notlobmusic
Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38565709718&ref=ts

notfarG House Concerts (Grafton) ~100% of the donations go to the artists.
Mailing list ~ http://www.reverbnation.com/venue/431454
Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=147864099159&ref=ts

Folk News and Information
Blog ~ http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com
Yahoo ~ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthEastFolknRoots

"In this era of pop-driven acoustic music, notloB is keeping the folk tradition alive." ~ Jack Hardy

notfarG House Concerts Presents SARAH MCQUAID

Sarah McQuaid

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Time: Pot luck dinner 6:30-7:30pm, concert 7:30-9:30pm

Venue: notfarG House Concerts, Grafton, MA

Suggested donation: $15

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED: notlobreservations@gmail.com

Join the notfarG mailing list

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”. (For more on Mama, see www.mamamusic.co.uk).

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 PressThe 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.

A cerebral and consummate performer, she is adept at researching the material she plays and this 11-track album is no exception. It is accompanied by a 24-page illustrated booklet explaining the fascinating histories of the songs and how she stumbled across them. Says Sarah: “For nearly every song, I’ve either photographed my own source material for the booklet – tattered books, LP and 78 records – or included library scans of archive transcriptions, broadsheet ballads and so on.”

Sometimes elegiac, always elegant, the album includes upbeat, fun tracks steeped in the Appalachian tradition and others perfect for mellow, late-night listening. They range from opener ‘The Chickens They Are Crowing’, first heard by Sarah as a child, sung by the great Peggy Seeger on the 1958 recording Folksongs and Ballads, to ‘West Virginia Boys’, which started life as a blackface minstrel song in the music halls of New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Performed as an instrumental on this album, ‘Shady Grove’ is a song Sarah recalls singing with her mum on long car journeys, while she first heard ‘East Virginia’ on her mother’s scratched and battered copy of Joan Baez’s debut album.

She discovered ‘In The Pines’ in the 1980 Loretta Lynn biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter (as sung by actress Sissy Spacek) and couldn’t get it out of her head. Sarah recalls: “Strangely, driving home at the end of the day on which I recorded ‘In The Pines’, I switched on the car radio just in time to hear Nirvana’s 1993 acoustic version of the song being played on RTÉ Radio 2!”

Sarah’s exceptional voice is heard to great effect in the unaccompanied ballad ‘The Wagoner’s Lad’, whose origins can be traced back to the 1720s. Similarly, her stark and spellbinding rendition of the powerful Sacred Harp hymn ‘Wondrous Love’ is likely to give you goosebumps. It also resulted in her being contacted by renowned American folk singer-songwriter and Appalachian dulcimer player Jean Ritchie, who had recorded it back in 1956.

Jean saw a YouTube video of Sarah performing the song and contacted her asking where she had found the lyrics, initially thinking they differed from her own version. Says Sarah: “Having been listening to her album since my early childhood, I felt rather as I imagine a painter must feel who’d received an out of the blue message from Leonardo da Vinci!”

There are also two heartfelt compositions of her own. She describes ‘Only an Emotion’ as “a song in defence of sadness” and something of a gentle riposte to people who flippantly say “Cheer up, it might never happen!”, while ‘Last Song’ is the perfect album closer – a tender number written for both her mother and her daughter Lily Jane (who sadly never met each other), illustrating a perfect three-generation fusion of mothers singing their daughters to sleep.

Eleven years and a musical career break on from the original release of her debut album, Sarah is happy that the new album has achieved what she set out to do. “I really like that feeling of continuity and connection through music – the way it links people across generations and even on different continents. It’s been a very emotional project for me – not just because I’m keeping my mother’s spirit alive, in a sense, by singing the songs she loved but because in researching the origins and evolution of these songs and putting my own stamp on them, I’ve been taken right back to my roots.”

Now busy with upcoming tours and concerts in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA, Sarah will be returning to the studio in July 2009 to record her third solo album, once again with Gerry O’Beirne producing and Trevor Hutchinson engineering. Sarah is also slowly but surely working on a novel for which she’s received two Irish Arts Council Bursaries in Literature. She hopes to finish it one of these days.

© 2009 Sarah McQuaid

http://www.sarahmcquaid.com

And tune in to Worcester Community Radio WCUW (91.3fm, streaming at www.wcuw.org) Monday, February 22 between 5-8pm when Sarah will be Patrick Moriarty's guest.

Sarah McQuaid in concert, 18 April 2009 from Sarah McQuaid on Vimeo.

http://www.boston.com/ae/events/articles/2010/02/18/traveling_musicians_repay_hospitality_with_house_concerts/

GLOBE WEST ARTS

Making traveling musicians feel at home

By Denise Taylor, Globe Correspondent | February 18, 2010

Sarah McQuaid will perform next Thursday in a notfarG House Concert.

Big acts like U2 may stay at the Ritz when on tour, but hard-working talents on the folk scene often need a cheaper - if not free - place to crash. That’s where folk music promoter Jeff Boudreau comes in. When out-of-town performers play gigs at venues such as Club Passim or Johnny D’s, Boudreau puts them up in his Grafton home. In thanks, they perform house concerts in his living room.

“Like any house concert, 100 percent of the donations go to the musician. Having a musician the caliber of a Tony Bird or a Sarah McQuaid play in my living room is payment enough for me,’’ said Boudreau.

Boudreau also runs the not-for-profit notloB (Bolton spelled backward) concert series at public venues across the area, including Newton’s Jackson Homestead. In October, he started the notfarG House Concerts, continuing his theme by using the reverse spelling of Grafton. He has since hosted artists including David Massengill, Marylou Ferrante, and Claudia Nygaard. Furniture is moved out of the living and dining rooms, chairs are moved in, and up to 25 guests are allowed in.

“There’s no amplification; it’s just the musician and his or her instrument and the audience sitting a couple of feet away,’’ said Boudreau. “I like stage concerts with amplification, too. I like both environments . . . but the house concerts offer an alternative.’’

Concert dates arise as opportunities do. Next up is Tony Bird, who performs Sunday at 7 p.m. A Malawi-born musician who began singing out against racial oppression in South Africa in 1969, Bird is considered the Bob Dylan of the antiapartheid movement. Here, he’s known for touring with Ladysmith Black Mambazo in the 1980s. Bird lives in New York City now, and while his sound still lilts with the rhythms of his homeland, his lyrics are sharply pointed at issues we face here.

“I first met Tony in an elevator at UMass in Boston and figured he had to be a musician. He had long hair and a beat-up guitar case held together with duct tape. So I just struck up a rapport with him before I knew who he was,’’ said Boudreau. “It turned out I was talking to the guy they call the father of South African folk rock.’’

Also coming up are concerts with Celtic and American roots singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid, and country-blues guitarist Andy Cohen.

Occasionally, when demand surpasses the 25-person capacity, the venue will be a nearby location such as the Grafton Historical Society, or an additional house show will be added.

notfarG House Concerts: Tony Bird, two shows Sunday, a matinee and at 7 p.m.; Sarah McQuaid, 7:30 p.m. next Thursday; location provided with reservation. Suggested donation $15. Reserve at notlobreservations@gmail.com, www.notlobmusic.googlepages.com.

We want to hear about your upcoming events. Please contact westarts@globe.com.

Source

One minor correction. At the time of the interview it was not known if Lucky 13 would be presented as a house concert or at the Grafton Historical Society as a benefit for same. That has been resolved, it will be the latter. More information soon at http://notlobmusic.googlepages.com (notloB Folk Concerts) & http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=271115604419&ref=ts (Grafton Historical Society).

notloB Folk Concerts presents TONY BIRD, 2/21

notloB Folk Concerts

presents

Tony Bird

notfarG House Concerts, Grafton

Sunday, February 21, 2010

SEATING EXTREMELY LIMITED, RESERVATIONS REQUIRED ~ notlobreservations@gmail.com
Doors/pot luck @ 6pm, Concert @ 7pm

Suggested minimum donation $15

"Brilliantly original songwriter Tony Bird... wonderfully fuses African and European folk styles into songs that are clever, fun, urgent."
-- The Boston Globe

"Most of my life I've been on a search for things that can unite life, rather than divide it, possibly because of my very divisive background in growing up with colonialism and racism in Africa. My music has ended up being a synthesis of universal spirituality, politics and nature."
~ Tony Bird

Tony Bird is a folk rock singer-songwriter who was born and grew up in Nyasaland (now Malawi) in Southern Africa. He is known for his Dylanesque vocals and for his songs which describe life in colonial Nyasaland from a progressive anti-colonial point of view. He made his first solo performances at the Space Theatre in Cape Town where his unique African style was reviewed favorably by press and promoters. He recorded two albums in the 70s. His comeback CD Sorry Africa, released in 1990 on Rounder Records in the USA and Mountain Records in Europe and Africa, included the hit song "Mango Time", which describes the happiness of the mangoes being ripe, once a year.

He toured with Ladysmith Black Mambazo in the 1980s, who recorded his song "Go Willie Go".

http://www.mangotime.net

notloB Folk Concerts

Bringing traditional American, Canadian, British, and Celtic folk, folk revival, world, blues, roots and bluegrass/newgrass music toArlington, Boston, Grafton, Newton & Somerville.

"In this era of pop-driven acoustic music, notloB is keeping the folk tradition alive."
~ Jack Hardy

May is House Concert Month

Concerts in Your Home has designed May as House Concert Month.

This is a good time for all who present or attend house concerts to become acquainted with CIYH. Hosts register for free, patrons search the database for free, there is a small charge for musicians to register.

And be sure to post NE house concerts to the NEFolknRoots message list with back-up reminders to the NEFolknRoots calendar.

I encourage all house concert presenters to reply to this message with your house concert name, town/city, the kind of music you present, contact info and upcoming concert information.

I'll start.

Venue	Date	Artists
Jackson	Friday, January 29, 2010	Jim Infantino
Jackson	Sunday, February 07, 2010	TBA
Grafton	Thursday, February 25, 2010	Sarah McQuaid
Jackson	Sunday, March 07, 2010	Geoff Bartley
Grafton	March TBA	Andrew Cohen
Grafton*	Sunday, March 14, 2010	Lucky 13

Jackson = The Jackson Homestead, an historic house museum in Newton.
Website
Mailing list
Facebook

Grafton = A private residence in Grafton.
Website
Mailing list
Facebook

Reservations for both = notlobreservations @ gmail.com

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* (may move to a larger venue in Grafton)