Upcoming Concerts
Saturday, August 28, 2010 – 7:30 pm
Special Double Bill featuring
Siobhan Quinn & Michael Bowers
and fRiCTiON fARM
Siobhan’s voice has been referred to as a “pyrotechnic folk and blues” singer. She can rip into exuberant blues, bring tears to your eyes with a soulful ballad, or bring an audience to complete stillness with a centuries old folk song. Michael is known for his strong, sophisticated lyrics as well as cut-to-the chase songs. Brimming with compelling songs and seamless harmonies together Siobhan and Michael paint dynamic and colorful stories with rich original, contemporary and traditional music. Their performance sare filled with gracious and gritty stories and observations of the human experience. Both Michael and Siobhan have individual reputations earned from five collective recordings, national touring and radio play reaching international levels prior to their partnership; their collaboration brings out the best in each.
fRiCTiON fARM is Aidan Quinn & Christine Stay. Blending country, folk and pop into a seamless package is not easy, but fRiCTiON fARM has it down. WIth just two people and two instruments they create a lot of sound and a diverse reertoire; Aidan has a big jangly strum that will hypnotize your feet into tapping along, until he snaps you out of it with some intricate flat picking; Christine has a vocal intensity that is intimate and vulnerable in one song, powerful and angst ridden in the next. With Aidan’s vocals thrown in the mix they recall classic 60’s harmonies. fRiCTiON fARM finds inspiration in the strength of another musician, and in their clothes dryer, they quote Dr. Suess and Thomas Paine, so its bound to be an interesting listen!
$20 Suggested Donation for this special double bill show.
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Friday, September 10, 2010 – 8:00 pm
An Evening with Randall Bramblett
While Bramblett may not be a household name, he is legendary within music circles for his songwriting and musicianship. He released a pair of acclaimed solo albums in the mid-‘70s, then joined the jazz-rock outfit Sea Level, becoming their principal songwriter and vocalist. From there, Bramblett embarked on a path as a big-league, musical utility man (primarily sax and keys) and landed on the speed dial of some of the greatest names in rock history, including Traffic, Steve Winwood, Levon Helm and Bonnie Raitt.
Along the way, although he did not resume his solo recording career, he continued to perform live with The Randall Bramblett Band. Then around the turn of the new millennium, he refocused on his recording career and signed a contract with New West Records. Now It‘s Tomorrow, his fourth for the label, represents an artistic peak in his long and stellar career.
“Randall is the most talented and prolific songwriter I have the privilege of knowing.” —Bill Berry (R.E.M.)
“[He's] one of Georgia’s musical treasures…Guaranteed to improve your day!” —Dave Schools (Widespread Panic)
“…the best songs of his career.” (No More Mr. Lucky) —Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers Band)
“Randall is in my opinion the most gifted & talented southern singer-songwriter musicians of the past several decades.” —Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers)
$20 Suggested Donation
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Saturday, October 2, 2010 – 7:30 pm
An Evening with Jim Photoglo
With special guest Naked Blue
Jim Photoglo has musically spanned four decades as both a songwriter and artist, bringing his unique creative voice to the R&B, Pop and Country arenas. His solo career took off when he was signed to the Twentieth Century Fox label in 1979, culminating in a pair of Pop hits: We Were Meant To Be Lovers in 1980 and Fool in Love With You in 1981. Photoglo moved to Nashville in 1984 to pursue a full-time career as a songwriter. He took the occasional tour as a bassist for the likes of Vince Gill and Dan Fogelberg, but his main focus was songwriting, successfully quadrupling his creative output over the next few years. His devotion to his craft paid off with recordings by Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, The Everly Brothers, Patty Loveless, Highway 101, The Oak Ridge Boys, Pam Tillis, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, and Kathy Mattea. Four of those recordings ended up in the Top Ten of Billboard Magazine’s Country Music Charts, and two went to Number One: the now-classic Fishin’ In The Dark by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Hometown Honeymoon by Alabama. After recording two solo albums in 1993, his career took a bizarre turn. He and Russell Smith of The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Bernie Leadon of the Eagles and hit-songwriter Vince Melamed formed the band Run C&W. Taking classic soul songs of the 60’s and 70’s, they rearranged and performed them as bluegrass songs with comedic undertones. Their antics led to recording two albums that gained them a worldwide cult following. Jim continued to perform regularly at Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Café and released his solo CD, Fly Straight Home. He has continued to tour solo and has become a regular on the main stage of the Kerrville Folk Festival. His next CD, Sparks In The Radio, landed at #30 on the Folk DJ Best Albums of 2005 list and his newest CD, Is It Me?, was released this past summer to critical acclaim.
Borrowing from the Americana tradition, but firmly grounded with a pleasing pop sensibility, the performing songwriter team, Jen and Scott Smith, known as Naked Blue, have become one of the most successful independent acts in the Mid-Atlantic. Naked Blue has appeared on CNBC’s ‘After Hours’ and numerous other AAA and community radio and tv programs in the U.S., Europe and U.K. Jen & Scott’s songwriting credits include cuts on Evangeline’s ‘French Quarter Moon’ Margaritaville/MCA, Troy Turner’s latest single on Telarc Records and spots on The Young & the Restless, Brooklyn South, Jack & Jill, That’s Life and the films The Girl Next Door, About Sarah, The Smokers and Second to Die. Awards include Washington Area Musician’s Association Best Female vocalist in the Rock/Pop, Roots Rock and Contemporary Folk catagories as well as Music Monthy Magazines Best in Genre and Best Folk Group.
$20 Suggested Donation