Les Sampou is an Americana singer-songwriter, who got her start in the Boston folk scene in the 90’s and moved on to national prominence and acclaim. On the road for 15 years, Sampou has performed at Montreal Jazz Festival, SXSW, Toronto Blues Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival (where she won the New Folk Songwriting Award), Philadelphia Folk Festival, Winnipeg, and Falcon Ridge to name a few. Sampou has conducted workshops at Berklee School of Music and appeared on top syndicated radio programs such as Acoustic Cafe, World Cafe, and NPR. Sampou has released seven albums, five on her own label and two on Rounder Records. Her album, “Fall from Grace”, topped the Gavin Americana Charts nationwide. Her release “Lonesomeville” charted number 2 on the US/European Americana F.A.R. Charts At present, Sampou writes, teaches, and dedicates herself to an on-going venture into the world of Jazz and Americana music as well as writing for Film & TV.
“Sampou’s passionate vocals are simply stunning, now ballsy and rough-edged, then purry and seductive, while the only problem with her original songs is trying to decide which is the least sensational. I strongly suggest you check her out.” 3rd COAST MUSIC, Texas
“Sampou never wavers from a steady tone of genuineness…sharply observant songs.” DOWNBEAT
“Sampou has written all the songs of “Lonesomeville” with Raymond Carver’s hard-edged minimalism and Emily Dickinson’s startling poetic images.” Chris Bergeron/DAILY NEWS STAFF
Paris meets New-Orleans!
Francophile trio Manège à Trois trio is back to Celebrate French Month with the Parisian sounds of Musette and Chanson. Lead by ex-pat fingerstyle guitarist Bertrand Laurence, the trio integrates the with French roots, American influences of Jazz Blues and Swing.
This Gumbo Maison (the CD’s title) will include Jazz standards in French, French Blues in English, and a variety of French songs influenced by the American Pop, country & Jazz & Folk.
Served with accordion, clarinet, guitar and vocals, this sparkling menu will celebrate not just French culture, but the merging of influences that will pair New Orleans, Paris, and Cambridge in seductive modern fusion cuisine.
Bertrand Laurence: Guitar, Vocals
Suzy Lee: Accordion
Mark Chenevert : Clarinet
David Champagne just won’t go away. His slippery blues-punk guitar playing and unpredictable lyricism was conceived out of rolling loose leaf cigarettes with pages from Old Testament in the alley behind the Stillwater, Oklahoma U-Tote-M.
David Champagne is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His most prominent band was Treat Her Right. He grew up in Kansas City, and after spending time in New York and California, he moved to Boston where he became a longtime fixture on the local music scene. Around the turn of the 1980s, he was in Shane Champagne, which Trouser Press described as being like Graham Parker’s band, the Rumour. This group issued several singles. Alcott was also in Pink Cadillac, “a sharp rockabilly-cum-rock’n’roll trio” that released one EP in 1983.
In Treat Her Right, Champagne’s “tremulous slide guitar” provided part of the band’s distinctive quality, as Nashville music journalist Robert K. Oermann put it. People magazine wrote that Champagne mimicked the moaning vocal-slide guitar interplay that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page did so well in the early days of Led Zeppelin. That article also noted how Champagne and Mark Sandman wrote “bona-fide bad luck songs with a wink.”
Whereas Sandman achieved greater fame with Morphine, Champagne was not in the limelight after Treat Her Right disbanded. Yet he continues to perform in the Boston area under his stage name. In recent years, his project has been called Agnostic Gospel. His wife Katie has been his partner in some of his musical endeavors.
For more than 25 years Kevin “B.F.” Burt has been electrifying audiences throughout the Midwest dispelling the myth that true blues has no roots in Iowa. His soul-inspired presentation is unique which consistently get him compared to a range of artists like Bill Withers and Aaron Neville, with the ability to build an audience rapport that has been compared to B.B. King.
Kevin is a self-taught musician (vocals, harmonica, and guitar) whose smooth, warm vocal presentation sets a mood of relaxed exhilaration, with a welcome mixture of serious music and infectious humor audiences of all ages seem to enjoy. His voice and presence are powerful. His unique delivery ranges from the sweetest, fullest, juiciest come-on to the most playful growl. Though he performs between 325 and 400 shows a year, he holds nothing back night after night and audiences leave knowing that.
It isn’t surprising, that Powers landed the #1 spot on the Roots Music Report’s “Top 50 Folk Albums of 2014” with zero publicity. She has charted on the Folk Music Radio charts as well as staying on the RMR charts for over 12 weeks with new single “When it Rains.” Over the years Powers has appeared at numerous prestigious venues and musical gatherings including The Boston Folk Festival, The Philadelphia Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and Telluride Bluegrass Festival. She has toured throughout The United States as well as overseas, making appearances in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and The U.K. Her song Diamond Day was featured in the motion picture Chuck, and other tracks have made their way into the television series Rescue Me and Justified.
With ‘Love is Why,’ Powers’ latest self-penned full-length album, the New England-based artist explores the universal emotion of love and its huge influence on our decisions. In particular, she examines love in the context of holding on or letting go through human loss and grieving. The album’s original songs were written during the pandemic and after Powers lost her father, whom she calls “my best friend.”
Love is Why was recorded at Dagotown Recorders in Boston. Produced by drummer Marco Giovino (Robert Plant, Tom Jones, Norah Jones) and engineered by Sam Margolis.
The album includes musical luminaries Bo Ramsey, Luther Dickinson, Kelvin Holly, Doug Lancio, John Putnam, Regina and Anne McCrary, Brother Paul Brown, Marty Ballou, Charles Giordano, Asa Brosius, and singer-songwriter Paul Thorn on duet vocals during a transcendent cover of Gregg Allman’s “Please Call Home.”
When you catch Kerri Powers on stage, you will immediately feel the realness and rawness of her artistry. She delivers art at its purest, a musical canvas painted with all the soulful colors and emotion that will pull you into her songs and message of love.
Join May Erlewine for an intimate evening of stories and song!
One of the Midwest’s most prolific and passionate songwriters, May continues to share her gift for writing songs of substance that feel both new and soulfully familiar. Her lyrics offer a window into her heartbreak, her empowerment, and her emboldened spirit.
These lyrics, which are really stories crafted through May’s unique experiences, are rooted in wisdom, joy, sorrow, simplicity, and love. Musically, she carries the songwriter’s torch through many genres and sonic landscapes. The delicate arrangements seem to land somewhere between the go-to labels, making it difficult to describe and easier to enjoy.
May considers her career in the music industry as a service-oriented one and uses her platform for positive change. She stresses the importance of environmental advocacy, social justice, creative empowerment, and community building as necessary work in our world. May’s body of work has become an anthem and an example of why we need to listen to women, empower women, and why we need to hear their stories.
Todd Albright is a country blues, twelve string guitar player and vocalist based in Detroit, Michigan. Grounded in the pre-war era of the blues tradition (1880-1939), Todd is a mindful purveyor of blues history. His repertoire upholds musical pillars such as Blind Willie McTell, George Carter, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Leadbelly. His life’s work continues the distinguished tradition of the very roots of American music as told by the African American musicians who created it.
Todd’s vigorous, gritty and soulful performances are accompanied by stories of the masters and a deep intuitive sense of respect for craft, providing audiences with a meaningful experience while creating a transcendent moment. One of the top blues guitarists in the world, Todd is the only contemporary twelve string player in his genre.
Todd began playing the blues while still a teenager, some twenty-five years ago. Initially, he was drawn to the sound of the finger-picked style and has since immersed himself in the foundational music and narratives of American culture. Over the years, Todd has shared the stage with artists such as Roy Book Binder, Charlie Parr, Paul Geremia, and Dakota Dave Hull.
Todd’s first full-length LP, Fourth Floor Visitor, was released by Jett Plastic Recordings out of Detroit, Michigan (2017). His latest album, Detroit Twelve String: Blues & Rags, is out now on Third Man Records (2017).
Sunny War (born Sydney Lyndella Ward) is more than just an artist; she is a force of nature that is tough to pin down. What exactly is her style? Is she a blues or punk artist? The answer is yes and no. You can try to place Sunny in a few boxes, but doing so would be a major disservice to the young songstress. Yes, she may be a Robert Johnson with a shot of Bad Brains, but even this description falls short. The only way to really know Sunny is to immerse oneself in the music. Easy enough, right? OK, maybe not that easy.
Sunny’s repertoire includes an expansive collection of songs exploring personal aspects of her life. Her lyrics prove she is not afraid to share her insights and philosophies on life. In her track, “Man of My House,” Sunny speaks on the trials and tribulations of living without a father in the home and inheriting the role of head of the household. Other tracks are just as powerful, but also contain a dose political philosophy as exemplified in the moving blues tracks, “Police State” and “Sheep.” There is also “Downtown–”a track that touches on the damage to one’s life drugs can cause without warning.
Sunny has indeed blown people away as evidenced by signing a sponsorship deal with Gibson Guitars and signed with performance rights organization BMI.
Inspired by playing and singing each others songs at their own “porch parties”, these established Boston area musicians and singer/songwriters decided to combine their individual talents and create their own brand of Urban Folk, Country and Blues. They took their act on the road and “Porch Party Mamas” was born. All are seasoned players, each with their own pervasive individual music persona and critical accolades. Between them, they have shared the stage with a distinguished litany of artists, including Willie Nelson, the Indigo Girls and Lyle Lovett.
The Porch Party Mamas are an engaging and magnetic Boston-area band of four female musicians who’ve developed a fun and moving unique blend of folk, country, Celtic, and blues repertoire. They play beautiful arrangements of lovely and whimsical songs featuring dynamic lead vocals and lush harmonies backed by virtuosic guitar, fiddle, accordion, piano, percussion, banjo, and bass playing.
The Porch Party Mamas are:
Felicia Brady-Lopez
(vocals, accordion, piano)
Elizabeth Burke
(vocals, fiddle, guitar)
Ksenia Mack
(vocals, guitar, banjo)
Katrin Peterson
(vocals, percussion)
Geoff Muldaur is one of the great voices and musical forces to emerge from the folk, blues and folk-rock scenes centered in Cambridge, MA and Woodstock, NY. During the 1960’s and ’70’s, Geoff made a series of highly influential recordings as a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and the Paul Butterfield’s Better Days group, as well as collaborations with then-wife Maria and other notables (Bonnie Raitt, Eric Von Schmidt, Jerry Garcia, etc.).
He left the stage and recording world in the mid-1980’s for a working sabbatical but continued, however, to hone his craft, albeit ‘flying beneath radar’. He composed scores for film and television, and produced off-beat albums for the likes of Lenny Pickett and the Borneo Horns and the Richard Greene String Quartet. Geoff’s his definitive recording of “Brazil” provided the seed for – and was featured in – Terry Gilliam’s film of the same title.
With his magical voice and singular approach to American music in tact, Geoff is once again touring the world. He performs in concert halls, performance spaces, clubs and festivals througout the US, Canada, Japan and Europe. Geoff may be heard from time to time as a guest on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion and has been featured on a variety of National Public Radio shows, including Weekend Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and The World with Lisa Mullins.
