the THE BAND band/ A Celebration of the Music of Levon Helm
Friday, July, 6th, 2012
8:00 PM | $20 adv/$23 door
We at OLS are deeply saddened by the passing of Levon Helm, one of the greatest American Rock and Roll artists of all time. We wanted to do something special to mark the occasion and it only seems fitting to bring back our favorite tribute band for a show that focuses on Levon's life and music. The Band band has given us many excellent performances over the years already, always treating their chosen subject matter with taste, respect and love ,and we expect this to be the best yet as we gather to celebrate the life of a true music legend.
The mission of The THE BAND Band is to present the music of The Band in a manner true to its original style and form, evoking the sound and the spirit of their live performances; to perform their songs for longtime fans as well as a new generation of listeners; and to have fun doing it.
The members of The THE BAND Band are veteran professional musicians who have played on the national stage for over 25 years. They share a love for the music of The Band, and formed this tribute band for the sheer enjoyment of playing their songs. By covering all the well-loved favorites, as well as a broad selection of lesser-known songs, they showcase the astounding breadth and depth of The Band's distinctively original "roots rock" music.
Artist Website: www.thethebandband.com
OLS Presents: Portland Celtic Celebration | Thursday, July, 12th, 2012
8:00 PM | $17 adv/$20 door
A Saltwater Celtic Festival Satellite Event Featuring the best of Portland's Celtic talent: Don Roy Trio, Naia, Boghat and The Press Gang! All artists have graciously donated their time to make this event a benefit for One Longfellow Square! Hosted by Tom Wilsbach and featuring short sets from some of Portland's other fine players, this show will highlight the exceptional traditional Celtic music scene that has been growing in Portland for some time!
Don Roy is a Franco-American ace fiddler who has been called the dean of Franco-American fiddling in Maine. Don, who also plays guitar, mandolin and banjo, has been playing since age 6. His uncle Norman Mathieu taught him how to play guitar, and he then accompanied another uncle, Lucien Mathieu, who taught him how to play fiddle at 15. While growing up in Rockland, he was influenced by fiddlers such as Ben Guillemette, Joe and Gerry Robichaud, and Graham Townsend. The sounds of Quebec, Ireland, Ontario and the Maritime Provinces blend in his style of playing.
Ethnomusicologist Bau Graves calls Roy the finest Franco fiddler in New England, whose playing, "exactly exemplifies what Franco American fiddling is all about. It is simultaneously precisely controlled and wildly danceable."
Naia is comprised of harpist Danielle Langord and flutist Nicole Rabata and features traditional Celtic music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Quebec along with Naia's own traditionally-inspired compositions. Rich harmonies blend with delicate melodies to create Naia's unique sound. Based in Portland, Maine, they perform throughout New England and have appeared in various ensembles and as soloists throughout the USA and on international stages.
Boghat plays the traditional music of Ireland with a contemporary twist. From fiery reels and sexy jigs to plaintive airs and the occasional song, Boghat covers the entire spectrum of the genre, experimenting with contemporary elements while maintaining a healthy respect for the tradition. Boghat currently performs regularly at venues and is often booked for weddings, parties and formal occasions.
A bold new sound has emerged in New England's traditional music scene: The Press Gang fuses the talents of squeezebox player Christian "Junior" Stevens, fiddler Alden Robinson, and guitarist Owen Marshall into a high-octane musical partnership. The trio blends their skill and fluency in traditional Irish music with their curiosity and aptitude for other styles. The result is a unique sound-at once energetic and sensitive, innovative and reverent. A debut CD, released in the spring of 2010, gives a generous helping of Irish tunes spiced with Appalachian music and original compositions. The joy that these musicians take from playing with each other shines brightly, both in the recording and on the stage.
Artist Website: www.donroyonline.com
Artist Website: www.naiamusic.com
Artist Website: www.boghat.com
Artist Website: www.pressgangmusic.com
ELIZABETH COOK with Tim Carroll| Friday, July 13th, 2012
8:00 PM $15 adv/$15 door
Elizabeth Cook is a throwback to the classic country songwriters with a clear, sweet voice that harkens back to country divas like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. Her wicked wit puts a 21st-century spin on everything.
Cook was born in Wildwood, FL, the youngest in a family of 11 kids. After serving jail time for running moonshine, her Georgia-born father met and married her West Virginia-born mother. The two fronted a country band together and pretty much raised Elizabeth on the bandstand when she showed a talent for singing at a very early age.
Elizabeth moved to Nashville in her 20s where she made a quick impression with sharp songwriting skills, a razor sharp wit, and a relentless work ethic. Rolling Stone sings the praises of her versatility, calling her "rhymes as witty and cutting as Kanye's" and crowns her "country's 21st-century answer to Roger Miller."
Her most recent disc, Welder, was produced by superstar producer Don Was and features guest spots from Dwight Yoakam, Rodney Crowell, and Buddy Miller. It was named one of the Top 30 Best Albums of 2010 by Rolling Stone, with the single, "El Camino," winning a place on the RS 50 Best Songs of the Year list.
When not on the road, Elizabeth hosts the raucous morning show on the Outlaw Country Sirius XM radio station. Her co-horts there include Mojo Nixon, Steve Earle, Shooter Jennings, and Johnny Knoxville.
Since 2000, Tim Carroll has appeared on The Grand Ole Opry literally hundreds of times as sideman to his wife, Americana chanteuse and Sirius Radio host Elizabeth Cook. He's toured in Japan, Great Britain, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, and South Korea.
"Tim Carroll is a fiery stage presence, a tremendous Chuck Berry-loving guitar player and a songwriter who blends intelligence, humor and aggression into something wholly idiosyncratic and tremendously entertaining." (Peter Cooper, The Tennessean/Nashville)
Artist Website: www.elizabeth-cook.com
Artist Website: www.myspace.com/timcarrollmusic
MAIA SHARP with Garrison Star | Saturday, July, 14th, 2012
8:00 PM | $15 adv/$18 door
"Maia Sharp conjures the allure of yesteryears Brill Building luminaries....Sharp wields her crisp, alluring choruses like a temptress; listeners will surely be ensnared. Her tear-soaked lyrics and high-cresting melody conspire for a finely crafted lesson on invincible pop." - Billboard
Los Angeles-based Maia Sharp may be on her fourth album, Echo, but she's mostly made her living writing songs for other performers, including Cher, Dixie Chicks and Bonnie Raitt. "Bonnie Raitt, I gotta say, was at the top of my list," Sharp says. "It was kind of the holy grail of songwriting. Apparently, I had been on her radar for a while. I didn't know this until we met in '05. On her record, Souls Alike, she sang a few of my songs on that, and it just was amazing." On Echo, Raitt provides vocals for "Death by Perfection."
Garrison Starr on Garrison Starr
I started out in this business when i was about 15 in hernando, ms. i played clubs in memphis in high school, started touring in college and got signed to geffen records in 1996 at 21. since that time, i've been signed to 2 other record labels and have been touring consistently in all kinds of capacities, sometimes thriving, sometimes failing miserably and wanting to quit this business and crawl in a hole. i've been disillusioned, bitter, beat up and to hell and back in my career, but i've never lost faith in music. how it heals me all the time. and what it means to all sorts of people.
To this point, i've released 6 full-length records and several eps in between. i've toured with my idols in amphitheaters and i've played for 12 people in charlotte, nc. (i did get a standing ovation in charlotte! it's amazing how loud 12 people can be when they're really excited.)
Artist Website: www.maiasharp.com
Artist Website: www.garrisonstarr.com
Jacob Augustine & The Milkman's Union, with Tallahassee
Sunday, July 15, 2012 8:00 PM
$8 adv/$10 door
Come on out for a great triple bill of two of Portland's favorites and one from away. Jacob Augustine & The Milkman's Union, with Tallahassee will fill the stage at OLS with a night of indie music you won't want to miss.
Augustine returned to Maine from California and formed a band, Jacob and The House of Fire. This ferocious ensemble toured all over the Northeast including performances at The State Theater, Port City Music Hall (multiple times), 2010 KahBang Music, Art and Film Festival, 2010 Old Port Festival, 2010 Common Ground Fair, and in front of tens of thousands of people at Oktoberfest in Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA) in the Fall of 2010.
Following the band's break-up, Augustine completed three solo albums (Frontier, The Original Love and Goldyhymns) and released all three on October 25, 2011. The releases were followed by a release show at Port City Music Hall in early November, where he was accompanied by members of Dominic and the Lucid, The Milkman's Union and The Fog Cutters. The releases have since yielded mass acclaim from across Maine, the Northeast, the U.S. and even as far away as The Philippines. Looking towards 2012, Jacob is set on touring to support the new releases, with plans in the works on his next release.
The Milkman's Union is an art-pop outfit based in Portland, ME. The band formed at Bowdoin College in 2007 and began touring the Northeast in 2010. Hundreds of shows later, the members find themselves having garnered a number of honors, including opening slots for Deerhunter, Bowerbirds, Woods, The Morning Benders, The Devil Makes Three, Ben Kweller, among others, an appearance at the CMJ festival in NYC and a mild and ineffable "buzz" surrounding their activities. The Portland Phoenix writes that the band "had one of the most celebrated 2011s of any band in town" and Boston Band Crush suggests that "they're the kind of three piece that crafts a sound so full and entertaining, you're constantly checking to be sure they haven't snuck in a fourth guy that you're just not seeing." With an EP due in the Fall and more rigorous touring to follow, The Milkman's Union's story will continue to unfold.
The New England-based roots rock band, Tallahassee takes it's name from a Native American word meaning, "old town." Formed in Providence, RI in 2008, Tallahassee is comprised of singer/guitarist, Brian Barthelmes, bassist Shawn Carney, drummer Matt Raskopf and guitarist Scott Thompson. Instead of recycling familiar musical concepts under the precept of Americana, Tallahassee strives to pioneer uncharted sonic territory. Augmented by their diverse backgrounds in professional football, fine art and classical music, Tallahassee melds a broad range of influences into an original sound that's simultaneously familiar and unique. Jealous Hands, Tallahassee's 2011 debut album, garnered attention from taste-making blogs (Urban Outfitters, My Old Kentucky Blog, Daytrotter) as well as NPR and college radio alike, appearing on the CMJ Top-200 chart for five weeks. Inspired by it's energetic live shows, the band is hard at work on a follow-up of dynamic, Americana-infused rock songs slated for release later this year.
Artist Website:
http://www.jacobaugustine.bandcamp.com
Artist Website: http://www.themilkmansunion.com
Artist Website:
http://tallahasseeband.com
THE PORTLAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA |
Thursday, July 19th, 2012
8:00 PM | $5 students, seniors, and advance. $9 door
Dr. Chris Oberholtzer and his 18 piece ensemble perform an evening of big band swing!
Artist Website: http://www.portlandjazzorchestra.com
ROY BOOK BINDER with Craig Bickhardt | Friday, July, 20th, 2012
8:00 PM | $15 adv/$18 door
An often stirring folk/blues guitarist and vocalist, Roy Book Binder's been playing country blues since the mid-'60s. Greatly influenced by Rev. Gary Davis and Pink Anderson, Book Binder played in East Coast coffeehouses in the early '60s, then began accompanying Rev. Davis on tours in the mid-'60s. He also played with Larry Johnson, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup and Homesick James. Besides constant concerts and tours, Book Binder's made additional recordings for Blue Goose, as well as Adelphi and Rounder.
After a brief spell in the military and junior college in the early 60s, Book Binder attended New York's New School for Social Research. He quit school in 1967, after he met the Rev. Gary Davis. Roy became Davis' chauffeur, during which he took extensive lessons from the blind guitarist. In 1969, he toured England with Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup and Homesick James. The following year, he released his first album, Travelin' Man, on Adelphi. After the release of Travelin' Man, he began touring America extensively.
Craig Bickhardt is a singer/songwriter of the old school - you can hear echoes of such '60s folk revival artists as Tom Rush, Gordon Lightfoot and Eric Andersen in his work. Added to this is the melodic sophistication of a Jimmy Webb or a Paul Simon, as well as a spare but telling lyric approach. "I admire songwriters like Woody Guthrie and poets like Robert Frost because they created functional art," he says. "Too much music today is just for the singer, not for Everyman. I think of my work as a 'Please Touch' museum - I want my songs to be sung until they're worn out." Also crucial to Craig's art is his virtuosic guitar work, interweaving folk, blues, country and ragtime influences into a unique whole: "The guitar isn't just an accompanying instrument for me - sometimes it's the front man and my voice is the accompanist."
Artist Website: www.roybookbinder.com
Artist Website: www.craigbickhardt.com
FREEDY JOHNSTON | Saturday, July, 21st, 2012
8:00 PM | $15 adv/$18 door
Johnston's songs are often praised for their literary quality - and deservedly so - but they also hit you on a gut level. As a young man, Johnston was drawn to both the raw energy of punk and the austere beauty of Paul McCartney's vocal melodies. It's no surprise that Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True is among the first albums that inspired him. One can hear Costello's gift for meticulous songcraft and wry storytelling on Johnston's second album, Can You Fly.
Johnston sold off a part of his inherited family farmland in Kansas to finance his 1992 album, Can You Fly. It paid off when Rolling Stone and Spin hailed it as a masterpiece. Robert Christgau called it "a perfect album." Its success led to a major label deal with Elektra, for whom Johnston released "This Perfect World" in 1994. Not only did that album showcase Johnston's increasing sophistication and range as a songwriter, but it also included his breakthrough hit, "Bad Reputation."
The Los Angeles Times praised his 2009 album, "Rain on the City," calling it one of the most assured efforts of Johnson's career.
Now splitting his time between New York City and Madison, Wis., Johnston is currently writing and recording songs for his next album, tentatively titled Neon Repairman. In an age where the Internet has greatly diminished the power of radio to dictate artistic success, Johnston is poised for perhaps the most exciting stage of his career. At this point, though, it isn't about destiny. Johnston fulfilled that a long time ago. Now, it's about joy - both for Johnston and his fans.
Artist Website: www.freedyjohnston.com
MINDY SMITH with Rosi Golan | Friday, July, 27th, 2012
8:00 PM | $25 adv/$25 door
Known for her "smartly written folk and country-tinged tunes" (People) and "her bright soprano" (Rolling Stone), Nashville-based singer-songwriter Mindy Smith will self-release her fifth studio album on Giant Leap/TVX Records June 26. The self-titled effort is her first album of new material since 2009's Stupid Love and her first as an independent artist.
Mindy's new material returns to the deep Appalachian sound blended with a strong rock influence that predominated her first two albums. The New York Times says, "Her voice carves melodies so sharp and fine you can almost see them." and USA Today says "Smith's best songs sound like little miracles."
Prior to the release of her 2004 debut, the New York native and minister's daughter charmed fans with her rendition of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," for the much-praised Dolly Parton tribute album, Just Because I'm a Woman. Her Vanguard Records debut album, One Moment More, went on to earn numerous critical accolades, featured the hit single "Come to Jesus," and sold over 300,000 copies.
Rosi Golan didn't so much choose to be a songwriter as much as it took her over. In many ways, Golan's songwriting can most closely be likened to a storm, or a weather system that has come and stayed for the last decade of her life. This weather system has reached its most lovely expression on Golan's sophomore album, Lead Balloon, the culmination of two years, organized around the pain and joy contained within that space.
Unlike most, Golan didn't dream of live shows and lyrics. At the age of 19, Golan found herself rudderless and unsure, reeling from the simultaneous experiences of both personal and communal tragedy. "My grandmother passed away, and it was not long after September 11th. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life," Golan explains. "I was having this thought while I was in a car - and a commercial came on for a guitar store." Shortly thereafter, Golan found herself there, and, never having played before, purchased a guitar for the self-admitted worst reason ever: "I liked the color," she laughs. It shouldn't have worked out, but it has.
Artist Website: www.mindysmith.net
Artist Website: www.rosigolan.com
CATS UNDER THE STARS: A tribute to the Jerry Garcia Band | Saturday, July 28th, 2012
8:00 PM | $12 adv/$15 door
Formed in Vermont in 2010, Cats Under the Stars has taken on the task of replicating the greatest side project of all time, the Jerry Garcia Band. Drawing from the entire JGB catalogue of Jerry picked covers and originals, Cats brings you rock, reggae, bluegrass, traditional and Motown with the authenticity to please even the most diehard Jerry fans. Six Vermont musicians have come together from many different backgrounds to make up Cats Under the Stars. The band is dedicated to the music, the show, the scene and especially the fans.
Artist Website: www.catsunderthestars.net
JOHN MOCK - From the Shoreline (A Maritime Concert Experience) | Sunday, July 29th, 2012
4:00 PM | $12 adv/$15 door, Special kids price - $10 at door only for kids 12 and under.
John Mock is an artist, and the sea and its coasts are his muse. From New England to Chincoteague to Ireland, the Atlantic's beautiful coastline and quaint villages, its wooden boats and whitewashed lighthouses, continue to inspire and inform John's multi-media presentations. He captures in music and in photographs the heritage of the sea.
John shares this heritage with audiences everywhere through his elegant and unique concert presentation From the Shoreline, where John performs original instrumental compositions on the guitar, concertina, and tin whistle. Audiences enjoy the casual narration and storytelling, which enliven the characters and places upon which the music is based. John's own photography is projected onto a screen behind him and provides a beautiful backdrop for the music.
A native of Connecticut's eastern shore, John's work has taken him around the world. Widely sought after as a composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, he has worked with such notable artists as the Dixie Chicks, James Taylor, Nanci Griffith, Maura O'Connell, Sylvia, Kathy Mattea and Mark O'Connor. His orchestral arrangements have been performed by orchestras throughout America and abroad, including the London Symphony, the National Symphony and the symphonies of Atlanta and Nashville.
John's CDs, The Day At Sea, and The Keeper's Companion, can be found in many of America's maritime museum shops, as well as at all major online retailers, and on this website.
Artist Website: www.johnmock.net
Sierra Hull and Highway 111 | Tuesday, July, 31st, 2012
8:00 PM | $17 adv/$20 door
A good chunk of popular music's real estate has been carved up along lines of age these last half-dozen decades, and we're used to seeing young musicians aim exclusively for young audiences then flounder as they outgrow teenaged listeners' tastes and concerns. Pan-generational mentoring and mingling has done much to insulate bluegrass from this coming-of-age quandary. Still, Sierra Hull is the rare soul to make it through these years entirely unscathed.
Secrets-the debut album she recorded at 15, and released at 16-struck the ear with sensibilities that seemed both seasoned and fresh; kids' stuff this was not. Three years and a move from her family's home in tiny Byrdstown, Ten. to Boston's Berklee College of Music later, she's followed with one of the most surefooted transitions into early adulthood put to record. Thirty seconds into the opening track, she sings a line that puts a fine point on it: "I'm not a child anymore." Of course, the evidence of Sierra's uncommon maturity-musical and personal (one might say she embodies the perfect balance of humility and capability)-has been there all along, and won her formidable fans: by age 11, Alison Krauss had called with an invitation to the Opry stage; by 12, Rounder was expressing interest; first Ron Block and now Barry Bales have served as co-producers, and her studio bands have featured the cream of the contemporary bluegrass crop-Stuart Duncan, Randy Kohrs and Bryan Sutton this time, alongside members of Sierra's own crack band Highway 111. Then there's the fact that Berklee gave her the school's most prestigious award, the Presidential Scholarship, a first for a bluegrass musician; her choice to accept it, to delay her dream of hitting the road full-time after high school in favor of expanding her musical worldview, was hardly a light one.
If ever the "child prodigy" label did Sierra justice, its usefulness has completely fallen away and a distinctive new identity emerged. What you hear on Daybreak is one of bluegrass's few full-fledged virtuosic instrumentalist/singer/songwriters, and one who's gracefully grown into her gifts. While her mandolin playing has always possessed clarity and fleet-fingered precision, here she attacks her solos with newfound spontaneity and depth of feeling; she calls it "playing with a point to prove." Her singing-always straight and true-has more heartfelt power behind it, to results Bales describes, simply, as "doing the songs justice."
As for the songs, Sierra's first album held just a few originals, but she wrote seven of these twelve, a collection that stands up quite well next to the outside material. There's a pair of sprightly instrumentals, her first-ever western swing number and several that show her emotional sophistication: in songs that fall squarely in the bluegrass tradition, feelings are out in the open; during country-leaning compositions, she ponders relationships from more introspective angles; and the title track-a breathtaking pop ballad-is the most ruminative moment of all.
Boundaries-age, genre or otherwise-don't hamper an artist like Sierra. She's already earned considerable respect in the bluegrass world, the IBMA's voting members having nominated her for no fewer than five awards over three years-there's a good chance she'll be the first woman to win the mandolin category. But as a player, a singer and a songwriter, she also has remarkable range, the potential to win over ears unfamiliar with Bill Monroe and give performances of broad cultural importance, as she's done at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the National Prayer Breakfast. Matt Glaser-head of Berklee's American Roots Music Program-put it this way: "She has no limitations as a musician." Daybreak is certainly a noteworthy arrival; you can't help but feel it's also just the beginning.
Artist Website: www.sierrahull.com
Jayme Stone's Room of Wonders | Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
8:00 PM | $12 adv/$15 door
Two-time Juno-winning banjoist Jayme Stone makes music inspired by folk traditions from around the world. His latest album, Room of Wonders, explores music from Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria, Brazil, Italy and North America. The repertoire includes a movement from Bachʼs French Suite, a Moorish sword-fighting dance and Stoneʼs lush, edgy originals.
Stone thrives on unexpected inspiration: Japanese poetry, Brazilian literature, instruments he found while traveling in remote Malian villages. He finds it with influences as diverse as Anouar Brahem, Bill Frisell, and Toumani Diabaté. His Juno Award-winning albums, most notably Africa to Appalachia, both defy and honor the banjoʼs long role in the worldʼs music, turning historical connections into compelling music.
The last chapter in Stoneʼs musical travelogue took place in Africa. He went knowing whatʼs still news to most: that the hide-covered instrument with an "extra" drone string we call the banjo actually comes from West Africa. He became particularly curious about the music that may not have made it across the ocean on slave ships headed west from Senegal and Mali in the 1600ʼs. The resulting album, Africa to Appalachia, is a boundary-crossing musical collaboration with singer and kora maestro Mansa Sissoko.
Artist Website: www.jaymestone.com
Buzz Universe | Saturday, August 4th, 2012
9:00 PM | $10 adv/$10 door
BuzzUniverse refuses to be defined by a singular musical genre. Having never abandoned their progressive rock roots, BuzzUniverse ambitiously incorporate elements of traditional rock and roll, acoustic folk, South American cantatas, world rhythms and old-school funk into their own distinctive blend of classic rock.
Since 2003, BuzzUniverse has been guided by the philosophy that music should have no limits and the world's musical evolution should be unflinchingly embraced. "We want to expose people to different genres of music," explains Alex Garay, BuzzUniverse's frontman and lead guitarist. "We want people to hear bluegrass, funk and New Orleans jazz and realize that the music that comes out of this little band from New Jersey comes from all over the country and all over the world."
In addition to fronting the band, Garay serves as BuzzUniverse's main songwriter and creative force. His musical visions are brought to life by the rhythm section of Greg McLoughlin and Dave Migliore, saxophonist Brian Ciufo, violinist Meredith Rachel and vocalist Rosie Lazroe. The recent additions of Rachel and Lazroe reinvigorated an already vital unit, broadening BuzzUniverse's already vast musical range.
Artist Website: www.buzzuniverse.com
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