BOSTON CULTURAL COUNCIL ARTIST FELLOWSHIP AWARD TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS – Extension to July 17th Music Features Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - July 10, 20170 Last month Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced with his office, a partnership with the Boston Cultural Council in which 50k will be invested in 5 artists. Its a pilot to help continue the support and growth of arts within the city and keep Boston as a hub for creativity...which, lets face it, in our current climate we really could use. Kudos to Mayor Walsh for being at the forefront of supporting arts in Boston. The deadline for submissions was just extended to next Monday, July 17th. More info and link to apply is below, but if you are an artist in Boston (sadly, we no longer reside in state) then get on it. BOSTON - Friday, June 2, 2017 - Mayor Martin J.
Fresh Track: Chris Capaldi “Hands” Album Reviews Music Features Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - June 23, 2017June 23, 20170 Another record coming from our dear friends down at Dirt Floor in Connecticut, Providence based songwriter Chris Capaldi releases a 7 song collection of rootsy, finger style acoustic driven tunes that are both benevolent and spirited. Capaldi sings in almost a whisper at times. His voice has a certain delicate quality to it. It is a bit soft in delivery, rolls off the slight cello bowing in the background and trickling acoustic guitar notes. There is a tenderness to the track "Hands" buried in the middle of the EP. The singer lets his vulnerability show in this tune, but its not necessarily a flaw in any fashion. An openness, an honesty are prevalent in his voice. The arrangement isn't over the
Dueling Emotions And Songwriting: An Interview With Susan Cattaneo Interviews Music Features Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - June 14, 2017June 14, 20170 Many folks around New England might argue that when you mention songwriting in the local community you would remiss to not at least think of Susan Cattaneo. The singer-songwriter has been a songwriting teacher at Berklee for well over a decade and co-written with the likes of Jenee Halstead, Steve Mayone and Dennis Brennan. Her accolades for writing are a mile long and the respect she garners from her peers is a testament to that. And thats just the start of her community driven efforts. Her project "Sisters of A Different Skin" united 26 women from all genres, ethnicity and ages in the Boston music community to record an a-cappella song and video whose proceeds are benefiting Girls Who Code. With her
Show You Should Know: The Suitcase Junket at The Sinclair (5/31) Featured Concert Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - May 24, 20170 The Suitcase Junket has been around. Traveling about New England, the US and beyond with a trunk full of...well, trunks and other odds and ends used to create a vibrant and eclectic collection of sounds. Matt Lorenz has been at this thing for a while now and seems to be constantly thinking of ways to evolve an already evolutionary style that he has conjured up from the back shelves of thrift stores and throw aways from alleys and dumpsters. Turning trash into treasure, and some beautifully explosive moments. 2015's "Make Time" was an early favorite of that year for us here on RLR and landed on our early favorites of the year list, proclaiming, "Matt Lorenz is simply amazing...awe-inspiring, his writing
Peep This: Ben Cosgrove Live in Vermont (And New Record “Salt” Out Today) Featured Videos Music Features Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - May 16, 2017May 16, 20170 I must be honest, I find I don't have all that much to say when it comes to instrumental music most times. Given the company I have been known to keep most of it is pretty fantastic, but more often than not, not necessarily mind boggling. Composer-songwriter Ben Cosgrove, however, falls on the other side of the fence when it comes to his work. The first time I saw Ben perform his "Montreal Song" left my jaw on the floor and I proceeded to listen to it about 37 times over the course of the next 24 hours. It just grabbed me in a way that not a lot of instrumental work is able to do. A few weeks back Ben
Peep This: Session Americana Covers The Grateful Dead “Loser” (White River Junction, VT 5/7) Featured Videos Music Features Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - May 8, 20170 Even in living here in Vermont for a year now (minus a few weeks) I am still navigating the music community and the intricacies of where you can take in the best music in and around the Green Mountain State. Burlington has become a go to with clubs like Radio Bean and its sister next door Light Club Lamp Shop. We occasionally will catch something at any one of the Skinny Pancakes and the Friday night Honky Tonk Happy Hour at Sweet Melissa's always gets us smiling and tapping our feet. While all these places are becoming special spots for us, there is still an exploratory phase we are undergoing when it comes to music here. Last evening, even for
VT Show You Should Know: Session Americana at Brigg’s Opera House (WRJ, VT 5/7) Featured Concert Music Features Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - May 5, 20170 For those not fully enveloped by all that Waking Windows has to offer this weekend...or hell, those of you looking for an escape of the inevitable craziness of running from venue to venue to see an INSANE amount of fantastic bands this weekend we suggest getting on down to the quaint scenery of White River Junction and checking out the always entertaining Session Americana. Cozy...but feverous. The band is uptempo, energetic and entertaining as all hell, but they sit pleasantly around a table as they pick through tunes written by them, friends and old classic, occasionally sip something out of a bottle or lowball glass and...well, you just need to be there to know. This is something not to be missed if
Show You Should Know: Space Between, Julia Mark and Three At Home (Gallery 263, 4/28) Featured Concert Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - April 27, 20170 Its always nice to go to a show and see a good band. Going to a show and seeing two good bands, well heck thats fantastic...but 3 acts in one night? Unheard of you say? Then get on over to Gallery 263 tomorrow evening and take it in for yourself. The triple bill sees newish rockers Space Between, piano extraordinaire and singer Julia Mark and duo Three At Home taking to the intimate space that Gallery 263 offers to its patrons. Its a heck of a great place to take in a show and this is one you should get down for. Space Between (strictly been told this name is NOT inspired by the Dave Mathews songs) is a newer addition to
A Sepia Sky: Pete Mancini’s Foothill Freeway Album Reviews Music Features Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - April 25, 20170 Pete Mancini is a bit of an enigma. In Foothill Freeway he steps off on his own and where his band Butcher's Blind evoked feelings and sonic landscapes of early Wilco and the 90s alt-country movement, before Americana was a broad stoke genre, Mancini infuses a whole slew of his own inspirations and influences into these songs. Steeped in that same roots-root palette, weeping pedal steels and all, but with tinges of pop punk embedded in his vocal inflections and early inspired inkings of The Band and Dylan that seep their voices into his solo sound. On songs like the title track Mancini paints a sparse landscape with a light acoustic strum and a pensive vocal weaving the tale's as swooping fiddle
Alaskan Songwriter’s Workshop With Bow Thayer and Tim Easton Music Features Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - April 19, 2017April 20, 20170 Join singer-songwriters Tim Easton (Nashville, Tennessee) and Bow Thayer (The Green Mountains of Vermont) for three days and nights of one on one songwriting instruction, with emphasis on both melodic and lyrical development, in the beautiful and inspirational location of Talkeetna, Alaska. This workshop is for students and practitioners of all ages and levels with the goal of finding new ways to write and be inspired. There will be group and one on one instruction with both of the staff songwriter/teachers, in order to work on how to develop and refine skills with meter, rhyme, and melodic improvisation. Only 6 slots are available at a cost of $375 per student. There is lodging available on site ranging from a private cabin