Champion Scottish Fiddler Alistair McCulloch accompanied by Tom Pixton on piano

 

Presented by notloB Parlour Concerts
at Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard MA 01451

Thursday, July 6, 7:30pm RESERVATIONS: http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

 Hailing from Ayr in Scotland, Alistair McCulloch is one of Scotland’s best known fiddle performers, teachers, and composers, with many appearances on radio and television. Past winner of many fiddle championships, Alistair is fiddle instructor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has tutored many of the new generation of rising stars.

He is delighted to be collaborating this summer with New England’s Tom Pixton on piano, a well-known and versatile musician.

To date Alistair has performed in over twenty countries, including Australia, New Zealand, China, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, the Middle East and throughout Europe and North America. Says the Scotsman of his work: "As the mountain of fiddle CDs rises even higher, this one can climb straight to the summit ridge".

His second tunebook, the 'Alistair McCulloch Collection Volume 2', was recently reprinted which includes a number of previously recorded pieces. Commissions have included a suite for William Grant & sons of Glenfiddich whisky and an orchestral score to celebrate the visit of the Olympic torch to southern Scotland.

Alistair also regularly tours with his own trio featuring Aaron Jones of Old Blind Dogs, and former Capercaillie whistle wizard Marc Duff. He is a long standing member of the award winning ceilidh band Coila. Over the years he has collaborated with many of Celtic music’s best known musicians. Alistair has directed several fiddle groups and ensembles including the dynamic young group 'Innovation' and was formerly a soloist with the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra. His playing style is driving and precise, described by the Living Tradition as "fresh, fiery and full of fun".

Alistair is an enthusiastic and inspirational teacher and has been invited to tutor at the Swannanoa Gathering Celtic Week in North Carolina, the Southern Hemisphere International School of Scottish Fiddling in New Zealand, Boston Harbor Fiddle School, the Akademia Muzyczna in Wroclaw, Poland and closer to home, Feis Rois in Ullapool.

"This collection confirms him as one of the finest fiddlers and composers of his generation" Living Tradition

"A second collection that showcases a master of his instrument taking its capabilities to the edge of the envelope" Scots Magazine

"A tremendous first album from an outstanding musician" Folk Roots

“McCulloch's playing is full of energy and technical skill but possesses a warmth and maturity both endearing and noteworthy” Rock and Reel

ARTIST’S WEBSITE: https://www.alistairmcculloch.com/

VENUE: The concert will be presented at FIVESPARKS - https://www.fivesparks.org/ - 7 Fairbanks Street, Harvard, Massachusetts 01451, the restored 1882 town library building. Doors open at 7:00pm.

TIME: Doors 7:00pm, Concert 7:30pm

ADMISSION: By free-will offering, suggested donation adults $25, teens and seniors $15-20, children $10. 100% of patron donations go to the artist. Cash or Venmo.

COVID PRECAUTIONS: Mask-friendly environment. Windows will be open and fans running. Please read additional Fivesparks COVID-19 protocols for events at https://www.fivesparks.org/

ABOUT NOTLOB PARLOUR CONCERTS: Since 2007, notloB has presented >200 not-for-profit folk, Celtic, old-time, bluegrass, and progressive string concerts in unique venues throughout the greater Boston area. notloB's current home is space rented in the renovated 1882 Harvard, Massachusetts library - https://www.harvardpubliclibrary.org/about/history-library - repurposed as "Fivesparks." Concerts in your home can be arranged.

Phone – 978-226-8862
email – notlobreservations at gmail dot com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/

Eventbrite - http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/notlobmusic

Blog - https://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

 

UPCOMING CONCERTS: Don White, October 20.

 

Jim Infantino with Jesse Flack

Presented by notloB Parlour Concerts
at Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard MA 01451

Friday, June 2, 7:30pm

 

notloB's first concert was Sometymes Why, presented June 2, 2007 at the Loring-Greenough House in Jamaica Plain. 16 years to the day and 212 concerts later, it will be celebrating its 16th anniversary with notloB veteran Jim Infantino,
“songwriter, novelist, nerd” supported by Jesse Flack, who, together, comprise half of  Jim's Big Ego – “the greatest band in the history of recorded music”.  “Jim's Big Ego's secret to awesomeness is singer, songwriter, and all around super-genius, Jim Infantino. Armed with the innate ability to create songs that are more brilliant than all others in history, Infantino gives the band the gift of greatness.” Or so says its own publicity.

Jim Infantino grew up in the Manhattan of the 70s and 80s where he met Dave Van Ronk. He studied Philosophy moved to Boston to become a songwriter and busker. After playing the local coffeehouses and touring with Ellis Paul, Jon Svetkey, & Brian Doser under the name End Construction Productions, as well as two separate tours with Chris Chander and Dar Williams, he formed a band called Jim’s Big Ego. He has 7 albums with his band and 2 solo recordings. His songs have been featured on the Doctor Demento Show, and NPR. In 2012, after years of touring with his band, Jim got the inspiration for a story too large to fit into song and began writing his debut novel. He is currently working on a new book, and two new sets of recordings to be released later this year. Jim lives in Boston and drinks a fair bit of coffee.

Jim is no stranger to Harvard, his last appearance being  March 25, 2022 in a virtual presentation for the Warner Free Lecture Trust entitled “Speculative Fiction: What Does It Say About Society?”.

Welcome Jim and Jesse!

ARTIST LINKS: https://www.bigego.com/bio/, https://jiminfantino.com/

TIME: Doors 7:00pm, Concert 7:30pm

ADMISSION: By free-will offering, suggested donation adults $25, teens and seniors $15-20, children $10. 100% of patron donations go to the artist. Cash or Venmo.

RESERVATIONS: http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

ARTIST’S LINKS:

·        Jim Infantino

·        "New New Year Song" from NPR's All Things Considered December 31, 2001

·        Jim's Big Ego at AllMusic

·        Jim's Big Ego collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

·        The Ego & The Oracle: Stage show featuring Jim's Big Ego in an experiment of "musical fortune-telling."

 

VENUE: The concert will be presented at FIVESPARKS - https://www.fivesparks.org/ - 7 Fairbanks Street, Harvard, Massachusetts 01451, the restored 1882 town library building. Doors open at 7:00pm.

COVID PRECAUTIONS: Mask-friendly environment. Windows will be open and fans running. Please read additional Fivesparks COVID-19 protocols for events at https://www.fivesparks.org/

 

ABOUT NOTLOB PARLOUR CONCERTS: Since 2007, notloB has presented >200 not-for-profit folk, Celtic, old-time, bluegrass, and progressive string concerts in unique venues throughout the greater Boston area. notloB's current home is space rented in the renovated 1882 Harvard, Massachusetts library - https://www.harvardpubliclibrary.org/about/history-library - repurposed as "Fivesparks." Concerts in your home can be arranged.

Phone – 978-226-8862
email – notlobreservations at gmail dot com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/

Eventbrite - http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/notlobmusic

Blog - https://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

 

UPCOMING CONCERTS:
Thursday, July 6: Alistair McCullouch w/ Tom Pixton
Friday, October 20: Don White

The Jeff Picker Band – presented by notloB Parlour Concerts

 

next concert

The Jeff Picker Band
Presented by notloB Parlour Concerts at Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard MA 01451

Wednesday, March 15, 7:30pm notloB is proud to present Jeff Picker and Eddie Barbash, veterans of our series when it was in Cambridge. With Eli Bishop and Frank Rische, the jazz quartet will perform material from Jeff’s first record, With the Bass in Mind, and recent release, Liquid Architecture.

Jeff Picker, double bass. As a youth, he gained national recognition as one of the most promising young jazz musicians of his generation. At age 18, he was named “Presidential Scholar for the Arts in Jazz” by the US Dept. of Education, and was awarded an artist grant by the National YoungArts Foundation, among other honors. He was also awarded a full tuition scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music, where he completed one year of coursework before matriculating at Columbia University. 

For the past decade, Jeff has been touring and recording with many of the biggest names in bluegrass and folk music, including a 5-year run with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. He performs and records frequently with Sarah Jarosz, East Nash Grass, and others. In 2023, he began touring with legendary progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek. 

Jeff’s solo material, including his debut record, “With the Bass in Mind,” and his sophomore release, “Liquid Architecture,” reimagines the contemporary string band, drawing on the harmonic, metric, and improvisational intrigue of his jazz background, while never straying too far from the front porch. 

When he’s not on the road, Jeff is Nashville based, where he can be heard frequently around town and on the Grand Ole Opry. 

Eddie Barbash plays American roots music on alto saxophone. He is a founding member of Jon Batiste Stay Human, the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He has performed with stars in almost every genre: jazz with Wynton Marsalis, classical with Yo-Yo Ma, rock with Lenny Kravitz, country with Vince Gill, bluegrass with Sierra Hull, funk with Parliament. He brings his horn and sensibility to Texas and Appalachian fiddle tunes, bluegrass, old time, R&B, soul, and classic New Orleans. He was raised in Oaxaca, Mexico, Atlanta, Georgia and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is 34 and lives in Brooklyn, but will soon move to Nashville.

Eli Bishop is an American violinist/mandolinist, composer, and arranger who is recognized for his virtuosity and versatility across multiple genres of music. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Eli has performed with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Lee Ann Womack, Maddie & Tae, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Video Game Orchestra, and as a member of the Grand Ole Opry’s house band. Eli has also worked as an arranger for Grammy-nominated video game composer Austin Wintory (composer of Journey, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate), and has recorded with Dolly Parton for Dollywood. His musical work spans many mediums of the entertainment industry, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s movie, Don Jon, as well as the upcoming Billy Crystal movie, Here Today. Minecraft: Pirates of the Caribbean features Eli’s solo violin work with orchestra. The Chicago Tribune has praised Eli’s “silken legato phrases, impeccable pitch and seemingly effortless technique in fast-moving passages…”

Frank Rische is a multi-talented musician and singer who grew up traveling and playing in a full-time family band since the age of 7. He frequently works alongside Jim Lauderdale and his sister Lillie Mae, and has been a choice touring and session musician/harmony singer to artists Tanya Tucker, Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, Aubrie Sellers, Jenny Lynn, Ahi, Milly Raccoon, Sierra Ferrell, Charles Butler, Logan Ledger, The Howling Brothers and many more. Frank proudly endorses D’Addario strings, L.R. Baggs electronics, and plays a Collings acoustic guitar. 

Records: 

“With the Bass in Mind” Bandcamp / Spotify

“Liquid Architecture” Bandcamp / Spotify

Video: https://youtu.be/dKBeBV1XrTE

ADMISSION: By free-will offering, suggested donation adults $20+; teens and seniors $10-15; children $5. 100% of patron donations go to the artist. Cash or Venmo.

RESERVATIONS: http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

ARTIST’S WEBSITE: www.jeffpicker.com 

VENUE: The concert will be presented at FIVESPARKS – https://www.fivesparks.org/ – 7 Fairbanks Street, Harvard, Massachusetts 01451, the restored 1882 town library building. Doors open at 7:00pm. 

COVID PRECAUTIONS: KN-95 or equivalent masks requested. Please read additional Fivesparks COVID-19 protocols for events at https://www.fivesparks.org/

ABOUT NOTLOB PARLOUR CONCERTS: Since 2007, notloB has presented >200 not-for-profit folk, Celtic, old-time, bluegrass, and progressive string concerts in unique venues throughout the greater Boston area. notloB’s current home is space rented in the renovated 1882 Harvard, Massachusetts library – https://www.harvardpubliclibrary.org/about/history-library – repurposed as “Fivesparks.” Concerts in your home can be arranged. 

Phone – 978-226-8862
email – notlobreservations at gmail dot com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/

Eventbrite – http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/notlobmusic

Blog – https://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

ninth time is a charm!

 RUSHAD EGGLESTON, a.k.a. Rushadicus in Concert

notloB Parlour Concerts #212
Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard MA 01451
Tuesday, October 18, 7:30pm

This is the ninth time we have collaborated.

Rushad is a mystical realm-hopping jester of infinite glee, whose unprecedented extremely fast bouncy cello style blows minds of all kinds.  A charming entertainer with unbridled passion, his joy is so contagious that many showgoers complain of sore facial muscles afterwards (the name Rushad means “joyful soul”).

A whimsically adventurous sense of melody shines through in all shades & styles on any of the many instruments Rushad bejicks “to keep it fresh”.  Sometimes he reads mystical poetry in his own language, speaks in tongues, channels aliens, throat-sings, beat-boxes, or does skits as different characters such as Negative Ralph, Country Bob, The Goblin, or Guru Fafa which he has a right to embody because of his half-indian heritage.

Somewhat of an acrobat, Rushad can spin on one leg, hang upside down, do splits, play in plough pose, and catch flying fruits in his mouth while playing fast intricate cello rhythms.  A distinguished flatpicker, his innovation and skill are admired by many guitar luminaries. Although some of his music is avant garde and experimental (he has an amazing deathmetal cat-voice), he is an expert at making personal anthems to those for which he is playing.

ADMISSION: By free-will offering, suggested cash donation adults $15-20; teens and seniors $10; children $5. 100% of patron donations go to the artist.

RESERVATIONS: http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

ARTIST’S WEBSITE: https://fliartists.com/artists/american-traditions/rushad-eggleston/

VENUE: The concert will be presented at FIVESPARKS - https://www.fivesparks.org/ - 7 Fairbanks Street, Harvard, Massachusetts 01451, the restored 1890 town library building. Doors Open 30 minutes prior to showtime. Patrons are welcome to view the galleries.

COVID PRECAUTIONS: Full vaccinations, boosters, and masks requested. Please read additional Fivesparks' COVID-19 protocols for events at https://www.fivesparks.org/

ABOUT NOTLOB PARLOUR CONCERTS: Since 2007, notloB has presented >200 not-for-profit folk, Celtic, old-time, bluegrass, and progressive string concerts in unique venues throughout the greater Boston area. notloB's current home is space rented in the renovated 1890 Harvard, Massachusetts library - https://www.harvardpubliclibrary.org/about/history-library - repurposed as "Fivesparks." Concerts in your home can be arranged.

Phone – 978-226-8862
email – notlobreservations at gmail dot com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/
Eventbrite - http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/notlobmusic
Blog - https://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

UPCOMING nOTLOB CONCERTS AT FIVESPARKS:
Friday, October 21, 2022 - Owen Kennedy
Friday, December 9, 2022 - Don White
Friday, January 27, 2023 – TBA
Saturday, April 1, 2023 - TBA

notlob fall 2022

Since 2007, notloB has presented >200 not-for-profit folk, Celtic, old-time, bluegrass, and progressive string concerts in unique venues throughout the greater Boston area. notloB's current home is space rented in the renovated 1890 Harvard, Massachusetts library, now repurposed as "Fivesparks." Presented in the house concert format, admission is by free-will offering, with 100% of the door going to the artists.

The season will consist of three concerts:

Friday, October 9 – Geoff Bartley (blues, folk)

Friday, October 21 - Owen Kennedy, accompanied by Ethan Tischler, Fern Tamagini-O’Donnell opens (Celtic)

Friday, December 9 – Don White (songwriter, storyteller, humorist, author, teacher) Details at https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/events

VENUE: Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard MA 01451

Doors 7:00pm, Concerts 7:30pm

Details are in "events" -

RESERVATIONS: http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com (no account is required).

ADMISSION: By free-will offering, suggested cash donation adults $15-20; teens and seniors $10; children $5. 100% of patron donations go to the artists.\\

CONTACT: notlobreservations at gmail dot com

Hannah O'Brien & Grant Flick, presented by notloB Parlour Concerts

 

Hannah O'Brien & Grant Flick, presented by notloB Parlour Concerts
Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard MA 01451

Tuesday, August 9, 7:30pm

notloB Parlour Concerts had planned to take the Summer off, but we've been asked to present a Celtic duo between their engagements in Cambridge and Portland.

Save gas, stay local!

Reservations requested through Eventbrite - https://tinyurl.com/notlobeventbrite

Hannah O’Brien and Grant Flick play a mix of original compositions and traditional pieces from various fiddling traditions. The duo began collaborating at University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, & Dance in 2019. They found common ground despite coming from different backgrounds with Hannah from Irish fiddling and Grant from American improvisational idioms. In August 2021 they released their first duo record, “Windward.” This album features a collection of their original tunes but also some of their takes on fiddling standards. Their arrangements have been worked up without notation and sometimes incorporate improvised sections. While the duo feels at home on double fiddle, they also change instrumentation often incorporating tenor guitar and nyckelharpa. Their musical interests are broad and as a result their programs showcase an eclectic assemblage of repertoire.

ADMISSION: By free-will offering, suggested donation adults $15-20; teens and seniors $10; children $5. 100% of patron donations go to the artists. Please make reservations through http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

ARTIST’S WEBSITE: https://www.obrienflickmusic.com/

VENUE: The concert will be presented at FIVESPARKS - https://www.fivesparks.org/ - 7 Fairbanks Street, Harvard, Massachusetts 01451, the restored 1890 town library building. Doors Open at 7:00pm.

COVID PRECAUTIONS: Masks will be required. Seating capacity will be reduced by 50%. Please read additional Fivesparks' COVID-19 protocols for concerts at https://www.fivesparks.org/

ABOUT NOTLOB PARLOUR CONCERTS: Since 2007, notloB has presented >200 not-for-profit folk, Celtic, old-time, bluegrass, and progressive string concerts in unique venues throughout the greater Boston area. notloB's current home is space rented in the renovated 1890 Harvard, Massachusetts library - https://www.harvardpubliclibrary.org/about/history-library - repurposed as "Fivesparks." Concerts in your home can be arranged.

Phone – 978-226-8862
email – notlobreservations at gmail.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/

Eventbrite - http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notlobmusic

Blog: https://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

Watch "Helmsburg", written by Grant Flick, arranged by Hannah O'Brien & Grant Flick

 

EVIE LADIN, presented by notloB Parlour Concerts

Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard MA 01451

Thursday, June 9, 7:30pm

Banjo player, singer, songwriter, percussive-dancer, choreographer and square-dance caller, Evie Ladin has always been surrounded by music – credit to her upbringing as daughter of an international folk dance teacher, and an old-time folk music devotee, she grew up thinking that playing music, dancing, singing with others was what people do.  Though entrenched in the traditional cultural arts of Appalachia, her home was in New York City, Baltimore, now Oakland – in cities, not mountains. But tradition bearers came through and played in her living room, with weekends spent at music festivals and house parties.  Evie’s performances, recordings and teaching reconnect Appalachian music/dance with other African-Diaspora traditions, and have been heard from A Prairie Home Companion to Lincoln Center, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to Celtic Connections. Evie tours internationally with Keith Terry and her Evie Ladin Band; and has produced numerous albums and instructional DVDs. 

Writing clever, engaging songs, for her neo-trad kinetic roots band with Keith Terry & Erik Pearson, in 2019 they released two CDs: the band’s fourth album of adventurous originals, Caught On A Wire, and Riding the Rooster, totally traditional, raging fiddle/banjo duets, quickly followed by a 2020 EP of favorite cover songs Playing Our Hand. In the percussive dance world, Evie directs the moving choir MoToR/dance for live performance and award winning dance films Ain’t No Grave and The Storm, is Executive Director, artist and choreographer with the International Body Music Festival, and an ace freestyle flatfooter. She is a 2020 Jubilation Fellow, awarded to artists with an exceptional talent for bringing joy to people through music and movement. In the traditional music world, Evie calls rowdy community square dances, and teaches clawhammer banjo, old time harmony singing and more. An electric and entertaining live performer, Evie really enjoys balancing performance with facilitating arts learning in diverse communities.

“Evie Ladin is a natural entertainer with a gift for infusing folk practices with contemporary verve.”

—SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

“Ladin’s voice is a revelation. Clear, strong, delicate and emotive all at the same time…her exemplary examples of adult love songs deal with complicated subject matter, yet never lose their swing or get bogged down by maudlin sentimentality. In fact, the music is gorgeous.”
—NO DEPRESSION

 

ADMISSION is by free-will offering, adults $20+, teens and seniors $15, well-behaved children $10 suggested. 100% of the donations go to the artist.
Please make reservations through http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com


ARTIST’S WEBSITE: https://evieladin.com/

VENUE & COVID PRECAUTIONS

The concert will be presented at FIVESPARKS - https://www.fivesparks.org/ - 7 Fairbanks Street, Harvard, Massachusetts 01451, the restored 1890 town library building. Doors Open at 7:00pm. The gallery capacity is 90, but will be reduced by 50% as a COVID precaution. Read the Fivesparks COVID policy at https://www.fivesparks.org/covid-19

 

ABOUT NOTLOB PARLOUR CONCERTS

Since 2007, notloB Parlour Concerts has presented over 200 Folk, Old-Time, Bluegrass, Progressive String, Celtic, and World acoustic not-for-profit concerts in unique venues throughout the greater Boston area.
Phone – 978-226-8862
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/

Eventbrite - http://notlobmusic.eventbrite.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notlobmusic

Blog: https://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/