Show You Should Know: Christopher Paul Stelling and Mary-Elaine Jenkins Sunday, April 21st @ Billsville House Featured Concert Music Features by Brian Carroll - January 30, 2024January 30, 20240 There aren't many better ways to see songwriters pouring their hearts out than in the comfortable intimacy of a house show, and the folks at Billsville House Concerts in Southern Vermont do it better than anyone out there. Our good friend Christopher Paul Stelling is making a return to the Green Mountain State and NYC based, New England fav Mary-Elaine Jenkins will join f for a singer-songwriter double-header on April 21st. More info below. In the meanwhile, cehck this oldie out from a live show from CPS way back when I was still in Massachusetts... Christopher Paul Stelling and Mary-Elaine Jenkins Sunday, April 21st at 7:30 PM Christopher Paul Stelling Atlanta, Georgia based songwriter Christopher Paul Stelling has released 7 albums and played thousands of
Power in Intimacy: SYML w/Trent Dabbs at Higher Ground (5/18 Show Review) Featured Concert Music Features by Brian Carroll - May 19, 2023May 19, 20230 As a music fan I like to think I have come a long way. There was a time where I foolishly corralled myself off into an extremely small enclosure within a vast musical landscape. 90% of what I listened to or went to see was "dudes in plaid playing stringed instruments" and I spent a lot of years lacking in my own creative space as a result of not digesting enough variety. Hearing from a more diverse artist pool or human mindset. Don't get me wrong, I still like the DIPPSI genre...can we trademark that? I am one of those artists, but in expanding what I listen to and appreciate has a profound effect on you not just as a
Show Review: Watchhouse / Yasmin Williams – Durham Performing Arts Center (November 20, 2021) Featured Concert Music Features Reviews by Ken Templeton - November 23, 20210 What a special evening at DPAC last night. I am not sure I have ever seen an opening act hold such a large audience in her hands the way Yasmin Williams did. Her playing is mesmerizing and soulful. And her engagement with the audience between songs--explaining her approach to percussive guitar, the instruments she uses, how she’s developed as a guitarist--is quite simply endearing. I got to chat with Yasmin for our podcast last summer, and her stage demeanor is as easy as talking to her on the phone. I loved hearing “Juvenescence,” and “Through the Woods,” live, and Yasmin’s cover of “Sunflower,” was really fun. From the first song, “Wondrous Love,” Watchhouse performed with their signature understated brilliance. Andrew
Show Review: Hiss Golden Messenger: The Sinclair, December 18, 2018 Concert Reviews Featured Concert Music Features Reviews by Ken Templeton - December 28, 20180 One of the best things about seeing Hiss Golden Messenger is that it’s a different line-up every time and, also, whoever is in the band on any given night is like family to frontman MC Taylor. This shifting collection of players are encouraged to offer their own sense of the songs, so makes it certain that you’ll hear new textures on songs that have made their way into your bones. (If you haven’t yet checked out the amazing collection of Hiss shows on nyctaper.com, please do: there’s a solo show, and many iterations of full-band shows.) This particular line-up was masterful. Phil Cook is, of course, Phil Cook. Josh Kaufman on lead guitar can do pretty much anything. Michael Libramento,
Show You Should Know: Julia Mark and Kaiti Jones at City Winery Boston (7/7) Featured Concert Music Features by Brian Carroll - June 29, 20180 It is hard to believe July is already looming right in front of us and the inevitable midweek holiday might ruin your mindset if you don't have enough holidays saved up at your office job to extend the beach days and BBQs a bit. But alas, song singing-piano playing juggernaut Julia Mark and rootsy pop songwriter extraordinaire Kaiti Jones have you covered with a co-bill on July 7th at City Winery in Boston to soothe all that ails you and warm your soul with their jazz infused songwriting stylings, gorgeous voices and hell, just a great night of music from two of the area's most promising songsmiths. In anticipation of the show Mark has released a new video from her last
Show Review: Sarah Shook & The Disarmers (4/29/18 at Atwood’s Tavern) Concert Reviews Featured Concert Music Features Reviews by Ken Templeton - April 30, 20180 After introducing each member of her incredible band, The Disarmers, during their absolutely smoking set, Sarah Shook introduced herself, saying, “I’m Sarah Shook. I wrote these songs, and I went through some shit to get ‘em.” She laughed a bit as she said it, but, as in everything she says or writes, truth and honesty was at its core, and this show was no exception. I heard some folks talking after the show at Atwood’s on Sunday night; one of them said, raving about her, “She’s just so passionate.” Yeah, that is part of it, but I think what draws me to her music and to her as a performer isn’t so much passion as it is how unflinching her
Show Review: I’m With Her and Andrew Combs, Sanders Theatre, Cambridge, MA (3/16/2018) Featured Concert Music Features by Ken Templeton - March 19, 20180 “I know you’re not supposed to take pictures at this show,” Andrew Combs said at Sanders Theatre on Friday night. “But this room is so beautiful and my mother worries about how I make a living. So maybe take a picture and tag me in it.” As far as I could tell, folks in the crowd laughed, but still no one reached for their phones. It was that kind of night: the audience came to listen attentively and the artists filled a vast space with joyful noise. It’s not an easy thing to open solo for a “supergroup” but Combs was up to the task. He has an easy, self-deprecating way about him that endeared him to the crowd; but
Lula’s Live @ Lizard Lounge: An Interview With Isa Burke and Show You Should Know 3/20 Featured Concert Interviews Music Features by Brian Carroll - March 16, 20180 Its no secret that, at RLR, we love all the things being discussed in this article. The Lizard Lounge has been a home for me as an artist and also for the first 2 years of our anniversary shows. Lula Wiles tore my heart out and then cradled it gently in the band's collective arms before tossing it back in between my ribs. And the opening act for the evening, Rachel Sumner, also happens to be one of our favorite songwriters that (as you will see in the first question below) shares a common thread with Lula Wiles, having a slew of great projects in addition to her solo stuff. I could go on and on about why you should be
Show You Should Know: Live From the Living Room (Riverview Sounds) w/ Susan Cattaneo and Cowboy & Lady Featured Concert Music Features by Brian Carroll - March 6, 20180 House concerts. They are a magical thing. An intimate setting where the audience is (usually) incredibly attentive and the artists move between casual conversation and wonderful performances with the folks there to take it all in. Riverview Sounds is another magical thing. A studio, an artist haven, a home. All of those things are encompassed in this special place that fosters creativity and that something special that is hard to put a finger on. Owners Sam and Shannon took it upon themselves to create a place for audience and artist to collide. A place for those intimate performances to be increased 10 fold and this Friday marks just another one of those instances. A shared bill with Susan Cattaneo and Cowboy &
Show Review: Patrick Coman at The Burren (February 17, 2018) Concert Reviews Featured Concert Music Features Reviews by Ken Templeton - February 20, 20180 Patrick Coman has been a staple of the Boston music scene for years and he released his latest album, Tree of Life, at The Burren on Saturday night. A few months ago, Patrick and his family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, leaving a hole in our local music scene, as Patrick was an integral part of WUMB and organized an incredible run of tribute shows under the banner, “For The Sake of the Song.” It was good to have Patrick back in the area, joining forces with the incredible Peter Parcek, who co-produced the new album, for an evening of blistering blues. In the liner notes for Tree of Life, Patrick quotes Woody Guthrie: “All you can write is what you