Category: Folk/Americana

Mike Block Trio February Tour to stop at Rockwood Hall, Caffe Lena

The Mike Block Trio is back again for their first tour of 2022 and they plan to play at Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs, on February 11th. This American Roots group recorded an album last month and have lots of new tunes to share.

Mike Block Trio Press Photo

The trio consists of Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals), Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), and led by Mike Block (cello/vocals), they are a supergroup of unique and virtuosic players. Using their American roots music with contemporary and international influences, they bring a personal perspective to their acoustic music. For example, all members of the band are heavily experienced in music and have brought an equally professional perspective their songs. Their music is artfully compoed and pleasant to listen to.

Mike Block Trio Press Photos

Mike Block is a pioneering cello player, singer, composer, and educator. He is committed to inspiring individuals and connecting with individuals across communities. Using his patented design, The Block Strap, Mike was the first standing cellist to perform at Carnegie Hall.  Touring extensively throughout the world, he has been featured in shows as a cellist and vocal soloist. Likewise, he has contributed arrangements and compositions, and even earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for the album, “Sing Me Home.” The NY Times characterized the performance as, “Breathless … Half dance, half dare.”

Joe K. Walsh  is a Bluegrass mandolin player and singer known for his work with the legendary Gibson Brothers band. Furthermore, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) has named The Gibson Brothers Band winner of awards for Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, and Song of the Year. After being the first mandolinist to graduate from the Berklee College of Music on the mandolin, Joe returned to Berklee in 2011 as both a mandolin instructor and as a Managing Director of the “American Roots Music Program.”

Mike Block Trio Press Photos

Zachariah Hickman is a double bassist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer based out of Boston, MA. In addition, he received his formal training in jazz performance and composition from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Similarly, as a producer, Zachariah as made records with many talented singers including Rose Cousins (for which he won a Canadian JUNO award), Mark Erelli, Laura Cortese, Miss Tess, and his own bluegrass band Barnstar. He has even made Television appearances including five David Letterman appearances, Conan O’brien, Ellen Degeneres, and Late Night with Jools Holland for the BBC.

The Mike Block Trio has also collaborated with musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, a popular American cellist. Mike is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble (SRE), having joined in 2005 while a student at The Juilliard School.

Mike Block Trio are working alongside the finest venues to do everything they can to make sure it’s safe for their fans to go out to their upcoming shows. As a result of these safety precautions, all shows will require masks and proof of vaccination. Tour dates and more info can be found on their website. Tickets to the Caffe Lena show can be found here.

January 28, 2022
Brooklynite Nathan Leigh’s Life Experiences Shape Genre Blending Album “All Myths Are Remixes”

An album full of alternative, rock, punk, indie and jazz vibes are what constitute Brooklyn musician, Nathan Leigh’s latest work of art. As of today, Leigh’s All Myths Are Remixes, is added to his never ending music portfolio. He released his lead single No Poetry (feat. Noie) [Timelapse Mix] [Timelapse Mix] – Single — Nathan Leigh, this past January 14th, providing listeners an idea of what to expect from his latest album.

Nathan Leigh portrays powerful messages throughout the duration of All Myths Are Remixes. It relays a creative vision on how to overcome the anxieties of our deepest thoughts, whereas other songs provide a more easy going and relaxing tone that listeners can vibe to.

“Pirkei Avot,” shares a message of perseverance, especially when all hope is lost. Meanwhile, “Thx::Spkr” opens with a woman discussing the protests taking place in today’s society, as well as the impact of revolutions that are necessary to establish change. Subsequently, “For When You Feel Like Giving Up” eases the mind with a slow jam without words, but is full of jazz melodies featuring saxophonist Anthony Cekay.

I started working on the album in the first days of the pandemic as a project to keep my mind off the existential dread. I thought of each song as a miniature world I could construct to escape into. The recording sessions for ‘Myths, Conspiracy Theories & Other Stuff I Made Up To Sound Interesting’ yielded so much great material that landed on the cutting room floor, and part of my goal with it was to highlight the contributions of my collaborators that didn’t make the album. So each song is constructed around showcasing one collaborator’s work. Working with their tracks has been my way of playing with them and existing in a room together at a time when it’s still not safe to gather such a large group to rehearse.
Nathan Leigh

As a composer, writer, animator, and activist , Leigh is well versed in the artistry of America’s society as we know it. His previous EP dropped on November 19, 2021, House On Stilts, which was accompanied by a stop-motion film.

Additionally, he has worked in the theater industry, sharing his talents for over 300 plays across the U.S. Specifically, he has designed sound and composed music for plays located at the American Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, New York Theatre Workshop and more. Leigh was presented with his most recent award “Broadway World Berkshires” in 2020 for Sound Design of the Decade for Godspell. Therefore, there is no doubt that All Myths Are Remixes will significantly impact his music career.

To discover more of Leigh’s work visit nathanleigh.net.

January 28, 2022
Buffalo Native Willie Nile Heads To The Linda in February, 4 more stops in NYS this summer and Fall

Buffalo native Willie Nile will be coming to Albany to play at The Linda on February 18 and will be performing his new album The Day The Earth Stood Still.

The Day The Earth Stood Still album cover.

Nile used lockdown as a basis for his album. After seeing the boarded-up streets of Manhattan, he grew inspired. Speaking of the inspiration Nile said this:

I have a storage space near the Holland Tunnel, and normally on a Friday night at rush hour, it can take an hour to move five blocks. But one Friday night last June…I realized that there wasn’t a car in sight, and that I could have laid down in the middle of the street without anyone noticing. The title The Day the Earth Stood Still hit me, and I carried it around in my head for awhile, and eventually it sparked this set of songs.

Nile grew up in Buffalo, and in the early ‘70s, he moved down to NYC, where his music career started to take off. He earned national status with a series of albums, and his independent indie work added to his fame.

Willie Nile, photo by Cristina Arrigoni.

Nile has racked up many famous fans, including Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townshend, both of whom he has toured with on different occasions.

After all these years I’m still feeling the passion and the power and the pull of rock ’n’ roll as a way out, as a vehicle that can offer salvation and redemption and joy in this crazy-ass world. Here’s to more music and magic on the road ahead!
Willie Nile

The Day The Earth Stood Still combines all the elements of rock and punk, mixed with the passion of going through a pandemic. Produced by Stewart Lerman, who worked with Elvis Costello and Mumford and Sons, the album is described as “magical.”

Willie Nile and Steve Earle, photo by Cristina Arrigoni.

Willie Nile will be coming to The Linda in Albany on February 18 to play his new album live, as well as other fan favorites with some rarities mixed in. Tickets can be found here.

Willie Nile 2022 Tour Dates

Fri., June 25  STANHOPE, NJ Stanhope House.

Fri., July 2  BOSTON, MA City Winery

Sat., July 10  RED BANK, NJ  The Vogel at Count Basie Theater for the Arts. Two shows: 4 & 8 p.m. 4 p.m.—40th Anniversary Show for Willie’s second album, Golden Down, featuring the whole album played top to bottom plus several fan favorites. 8 p.m.—Willie’s eponymous first release played in its entirety (41st Anniversary) followed by different fan favorites.

Sat., July 17  PIERMONT, NY  Turning Point (solo; two shows)

Thurs., July 22   RIDGEFIELD, MA  (outdoor show)

Sat., July 24  AVIS, PA  WQBR Radio gig; outdoor show

Fri., Aug. 13  EGREMONT, MA  The Barn. (duo show)

Sat., Aug. 21 TARRYTOWN, NY  Tarrytown Theater,

Sun., Aug. 22  NEW YORK, NY  City Winery (new album release show)

Sat., Aug. 28  WASHINGTON DC The Hamilton

Wed., Sept. 1  WOODBRIDGE, NJ   Woodbridge HS Fields. 1 Samuel Lupo Place. Free show

Sat., Oct. 2  BEACON, NY  Towne Crier

Sat., Oct. 16  THREE OAKS, MI Acorn Theater.

Sun., Oct. 17  EVANSTON / CHICAGO, IL  SPACE

Mon., Oct. 18  ANN ARBOR, MI  The Ark

Fri., Nov. 19  HOLYOKE, MA  Gateway Theater

January 25, 2022
Alexa Dark finds herself on new single “Ungrateful”

NYC-based artist Alexa Dark owns up to her mistakes in her new dreamy alt-country single and video for “Ungrateful.”

Raised between Barcelona, Munich, and London, Dark began writing songs at an early age, influenced by a wide range of artists, from Jack White to Patsy Kline.

Alexa Dark’s new single, “Ungrateful.”

Dark lived on both the west and east coasts and uses her experiences on both coasts to write her music. Dark explores the depth of her music, offering new singles like “Fade to Black and Blue” and “Blind Faith.” The song is produced by Matt Chiaravalle and mastered by Grammy-award winner Emily Lazar who has worked with the likes of Beck and Haim.

Through the single, she admits to mistakes as she navigates the highs and lows of growing up, through her dreamy vocals and relaxed guitar.

“Ungrateful” started off as a voice memo of me strumming the guitar. I wanted to bottle up the feelings brewing inside of me – feeling unsteady and unsure in my life, yet feeling like I had to figure it all out perfectly. Simultaneously navigating a night out and sifting through my past, “Ungrateful” became a kind of reclamation, an anti-apology, telling the world (and more importantly, myself) to accept my mistakes, because I’m never going to grow if I’m too scared to make them.
Alexa Dark

The new single “Ungrateful” by NYC-based artist Alexa Dark is out now and can be streamed here.

January 24, 2022
In Focus: Chris Pierce, Live at Caffe Lena
This past Friday, Chris Pierce stopped by Caffe Lena and put on a passionate show for a small, but excited Saratoga crowd. The singer/songwriter recently released his latest album titled ‘American Silence,’ from which he performed a number of songs. Chris opened his set with the title track of his new album, and this set the tone for the evening. He sang soulfully, shared personal stories, and welcomed the crowd in to his world for over an hour and a half.

Chris also played the song ‘It’s Been Burning For a While.’ The song perfectly highlights his abilities as a musician and a lyricist. Chris put his vocal control on display all night, ranging from pained whispers to powerful roars. Chris even told a story of a childhood vocal coach who would, kindly, hit students in the stomach while attempting to hold out a note. The emotion and tone of his voice were allowed to breath all night, as Chris accompanied his voice only with his guitar, and on occasion a harmonica.

Chris Pierce heads to the West Coast next, and you can see all his future tour dates on his website.

Setlist: American Silence, The Bridge of John, Chain Gang Fourth of July, Sound All the Bells, Static Trampoline, Let Me Be Your Sunshine, Young Black and Beautiful, We Can Always Come Back to This, Stand By Me (Ben E. King), Are Your Beautiful, Invisible People, Residential School, It’s Been Burning for a While, Call it a Day
January 24, 2022
You and Us Announce First children’s Album ‘For Children of All Ages’

“You and Us” will release its first children’s album, For Children Of All Ages, on February 14, 2022. Nicole Porter, a clinical art therapist, musician and president of the New York Art Therapy Association, encourages children with pandemic trauma to listen to the album for healing.

Components of The Album

“You and Us” presents an album with the vibe of mostly upbeat rock, country and pop music. Consisting of numerous melodies, the album illustrates an enchanting adventure for listeners. For Children of All Ages, begins with a folksy opener, “Nowhere Now Here”, to the Nashville country vibe of “Safety and Security”. Furthermore, children will discover the evocative, mystical sounds in “Social Connection” and more variations throughout the album.

Inspiration For Art Therapy

Porter took a leap into child therapy, following the Sandy Hook School shooting in Newton, Connecticut in 2012. Evidently children across the U.S. had anxiety following the incident. However, psychologists and credited researchers developed ways to cope, such as CBT for Children.

For Children of All Ages provides a rare opportunity to enjoy tunes geared toward uplifting children and families who are experiencing difficult times. It focuses on fostering wellness and a sense of security, and it introduces therapeutic techniques that can be used in a playful way with all children. It’s also a gentle dip into the vast stream of possibility that art therapy holds for healing humans.”
Nicole Porter

People like Porter were inspired to cultivate change, hence why she established the Emerald Sketch, a mental health organization and art therapy trauma response team. Considering that Porter has a young child of her own, she wished to establish a sense of hope and relief in children. Therefore, her goal with this album is to provide wellness and security, in the midst of the challenges of parenting during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Colleagues

Javere Pinnock, longtime collaborator and art therapy trauma responder, produced the album cover art, which depicts a band of mid-pandemic children raising a flag of love and peace. His inspiration derives from the notorious 1945 Joseph Rosenthal photograph, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” and Felix W. de Weldon’s Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture.

Additionally, Porter created this album along with musical colleague Wyndham Garnett, to combine their mutual love of vintage British rock and classic American puppetry. The album is infused with powerful messages of courage, love, support, enthusiasm, grace, and more.

January 21, 2022
New York Series: Pete Seeger Honors MLK with “Take it From Dr. King”

Folk and protest music legend Pete Seeger performed on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2008, performing “Take it From Dr. King,” a tribute to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Seeger, who helped popularize the Civil Rights movement’s protest anthem “We Shall Overcome,” first met Dr. King in 1957 at Highlander Folk School, a social justice leadership training school and cultural center located in New Market, Tennessee. Seeger recalls the day:

I met her, I met all three of them that day. As a matter of fact there is a picture taken of us out standing out standing in front of a cinder block wall that they enlarged the barn which became their library and King, Abernathy, Rosa, Me and Miles and Zelphilia’s teenage daughter were there.
Pete Seeger

Seeger would later write the song “Take It From Dr. King,” a tribute to the legacy of a man who led a non-violent movement that championed civil rights and equality.

Seeger connected with King in 1957, in this story from The Kennedy Center

On September 2, 1957, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. Part of the school’s mission was to help prepare civil rights workers to challenge unjust laws and racist policies that discriminated against African Americans. The school also made a point of bringing blacks and whites together to share experiences and to learn from each other. It was a dangerous idea. At a time when southern laws kept blacks and whites segregated or separate, some white racists terrorized African Americans with deadly violence.
Dr. King delivered the main speech that day, honoring the school’s 25th anniversary. As part of the meeting, folk singer Pete Seeger got up with his banjo. He plucked out a song he had learned at Highlander, and led the audience in singing it.
Later that day, Dr. King found himself humming the tune in the car. “There’s something about that song that haunts you,” he said to his companions.
The Kennedy Center

That song in question was the protest movement song “We Shall Overcome.”

“Take it from Dr. King” lyrics

Down in Alabama, 1955,
Not many of us here tonight were then alive;
A young Baptist preacher led a bus boycott,
He led the way for a brand new day without firing a shot.

Don’t say it can’t be done
The battle’s just begun
Take it from Dr. King
You too can learn to sing
So drop the gun.

Oh those must have been an exciting 13 years.
Young heroes, young heroines.
There was laughter, there were tears,
Students at lunch counters,
Even dancing in the streets.
To think it all started with sister Rosa
Refusing to give up her seat.

Song, songs, kept them going and going;
They didn’t realize the millions of seeds they were sowing.
They were singing in marches, even singing in jail.
Songs gave them the courage to believe they would not fail.

We sang about Alabama 1955,
But since 9-11 we wonder will this world survive.
The world learned a lesson from Dr. King:
We can survive, we can, we will.
And so we sing

Don’t say it can’t be done
The battle’s just begun
Take it from Dr. King
You too can learn to sing
So drop the gun

January 17, 2022
Kevin Devine Releases Powerful Single “Albatross”

New York-based songwriter and artist Kevin Devine announced his new album titled Nothing’s Real, So Nothing’s Wrong, as well as its first single “Albatross.”

Kevin Devine’s new single, “Albatross.”

Devine has been making music for a long time. In the early 2000s, he performed with Miracle Of 86, which moved him forward into his own solo career. In 2015, he started his Devinyl Splits 7″ series with a variety of artists. He has also been a touring musician with Frightened Rabbit, John K. Samson, Julien Baker, and more.

Kevin Devine, photo by Erik Tanner.

His new single “Albatross” is a symbolic set of what his new album will be. Heavy drums, synth, and bass accompany Devine as the chorus spews, “If you’re sinking, sing-along/Nothing’s real, so nothing’s wrong.”

Devine decided the album will be titled Nothing’s Real, So Nothing’s Wrong through this song, and speaking of the single itself, Devine had a few words to say.

‘Albatross’ is a hard reboot, a fragmented emptying-out for us strugglers whose life experience invalidates cookie-cutter solutions or miracle cures or 21st century coping mechanisms. Where do you turn for comfort when the generally-accepted value system and discourse is this degraded and grotesque?

Kevin Devine is releasing his tenth full-length record titled Nothing’s Real, So Nothing’s Wrong on March 25, and he invites listeners in to discover the journey or self-preservation and its meaning. The album is available for preorder here.

Kevin Devine performing live.

January 14, 2022
Capital Region Musicians to Pay Tribute to Folksinger Bill Staines at Caffe Lena on January 22

At 74 years old, New Hampshire folk musician Bill Staines died on Sunday, December 5, 2021. For more than 45 years, Bill Staines has been the classic folk songwriter, singing his songs at the country’s top festivals, concerts, clubs and coffee houses. Above all, Staines performed at Saratoga Springs coffeehouse Caffe Lena twice a year from 1968 to 2021, once in the winter and once in the summer.

Staines held a special role at Caffe Lena, having performed more than 100 times at the venue. In addition, Staines decided to play at Café Lena twice a year in 1968 and kept his promise. Across the world, many fans have been morning the loss of Staines.

Bill Staines has passed away from cancer and our hearts are breaking. He played Caffe Lena summer and winter every year since 1968. He’s our nearest and dearest and it won’t be the same without him.
Caffè Lena

On January 22nd, Caffe Lena will host “Crossing the Water,” a tribute concert celebrating the life and legacy of the beloved songwriter, Bill Staines. The tribute will take place on the date that would have been Staines’ winter show for 2022. It will feature Staines’ songs, passages from his autobiography, and video clips from his final concert at the venue on September 17, 2021. Furthermore, there will be additional performances by Dan Berggren, Kate McDonnell, Vivian Nesbitt and John Dillon, Wanda Fischer, Kevin McKrell and Arlin Greene, Jonny and Annie Rosen, and John Kirk and Trish Miller.

Staines had wonderful songs, charm and gentle humor, He was known for being an amazing musician and likable person. Along with his his kindness and gentle wisdom, he was said to have driven more than 65,000 miles every year to perform at music festivals, churches, concert halls and sometimes even in private homes.

For many years I have referred to him as an anchor to our heritage. So much has changed over the years. But Bill has remained a constant.
Executive Director Sarah Craig.

In-person attendees must present proof of vaccination and masks are required. For those unable to attend, a free live stream will be available on Caffe Lena’s YouTube channel. Tickets and streaming information are available at caffelena.org

January 12, 2022
The Warp The Weft Release “It May Not Always Be So” based on an e.e. cummings Poem

The Warp/The Weft is a progressive folk/metamorphic rock band based in Hudson Valley, Poughkeepsie. They have been active since 2012 and have used poetry to influence their psychedelia-style music. Their third LP, Dead Reckoning, was released in August 2019 and a new album is forthcoming.

A Sun-Filled Room, The Warp/The Weft

Recently, they have presented a musicalization of “It May Not Always Be So,” an e. e. cummings sonnet that explores an intense love and, with it, the need to nurture the other’s future happiness. This song was recorded at the Artfarm (Accord, NY) in December of 2021 by Sean Boyd, this is the band’s first recording and release since pre-pandemic times.

It May Not Always Be So, The Warp/The Weft

The Warp/The Weft does an amazing job at captivating its audience’s emotions by evoking intense feelings of love, painful loss and imaginative awareness through e.e cummings,’ “It May Not Always Be So.” Shane Murphy and Trevor Larcheveque do incredible vocals to further express the deep feelings within the song’s poetical meaning. Christian Lark (Drums) and Chris Pellnat (Lead Guitar) help further captivate how powerful the melody of a song could be while using rhythmic beat and heart-felt guitar chords. The lyrics can be interpreted as an experience of a kind of love/relationship that it is possible to let go because you love someone so much you just want them to be happy, with or without you.

“It’s a fun challenge to add music to poetry without destroying the music of poetry.”
The Warp/The Weft

It May Not Always Be So; And I Say, by e.e cummings

it may not always be so; and i say
that if your lips, which i have loved, should touch
another’s, and your dear strong fingers clutch
his heart, as mine in time not far away;
if on another’s face your sweet hair lay
in such a silence as i know, or such
great writhing words as, uttering overmuch,
stand helplessly before the spirit at bay;

if this should be, i say if this should be —
you of my heart, send me a little word;
that i may go unto him, and take his hands,
saying, Accept all happiness from me.
Then shall i turn my face, and hear one bird
sing terribly afar in the lost lands.

January 12, 2022