David Berkeley returns to Club Passim to release his deeply personal new album, A Pail Full of Fire. Berkeley’s gift as a songwriter and storyteller is that he sees the tragedy and comedy in life, writing songs capable of both breaking and healing the heart. He has been called a “musical poet,” by the San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Times praises his “lustrous, melancholy voice with shades of Tim Buckley and Nick Drake.” That voice and his gift with words is what first sets Berkeley apart from all other guitar slinging songwriters. But it is his onstage charisma and unparalleled between-song repartee that truly puts him in a class by himself. Each show is completely unique, and his humanity shines through every note he sings and every word he speaks. Berkeley has released eight studio albums, one live album, and authored two books, each of which pairs with one of his albums. He was a guest on This American Life, telling an outrageous story of a private serenade he was once hired to perform, and he has won many songwriting awards and honors including ASCAPs Johnny Mercer Songwriting Award. Berkeley is also one half of the wildly creative transatlantic folk duo Sons of Town Hall who are in the midst of rolling out their radio theater podcast, Madmen Cross the Water, in conjunction with their new album, Of Ghosts and Gods.
Artist Category: Folk Rock
Robbie Schaefer
Robbie Schaefer’s Mom Thinks He’s Really Great—In case you haven’t spoken with her lately, Robbie Schaefer is the guitarist and songwriter for the acclaimed independent folk/rock band Eddie From Ohio.
Although the indie model has become increasingly common in the music industry, Eddie From Ohio actually helped pave the way, building a fan base through relentless touring and grassroots marketing beginning in 1991. Having created a large and loyal following across the U.S. and Canada (the mailing list now tops 25,000 names), the band has also released 9 CDs, selling upwards of 150,000 copies, all on their own Virginia Soul Records.
In recent years Robbie has also turned his musical attention toward solo projects, (releasing In The Flesh, a live solo album, in 2003), composing and recording the theme song for the theatrical production Gulf View Drive (by New York playwright Arlene Hutton), which premiered at the Actor’s Co-Op in Hollywood, CA in 2006, and releasing his first cd for kids and families, Songs For Kids Like Us on Rocket Pop Records also in 2006. The success of Songs For Kids Like Us led to a wealth of opportunities for Robbie, culminating in his arrival as Music Director at KiDS Place LiVE on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
A new solo studio album, “Strange and Lovely World” was released in December 2008 with John Jennings (Mary-Chapin Carpenter, John Gorka, Catie Curtis) producing. Robbie’s Mom is currently clearing space on her cd rack for the multiple copies she plans to buy.
Molly Pinto Madigan
Hailed for her angelic voice and haunting compositions, Molly Pinto Madigan won first place in WUMB’s Boston Folk Festival Songwriting Contest and was named “Artist of the Year” at Salem State University, her alma mater. Since her debut as the lead singer for the teen bluegrass band Jaded Mandolin, Madigan has submerged herself in the dark, luscious world of ballads, and her original songs echo with the whisperings of the American and European traditional music, combined with a fresh and modern lyricism. A three-time recipient of Club Passim’s prestigious Iguana Music Fund, Molly just released her sixth studio album, “Romeo and Juliet in the City.” In her free time, Molly enjoys writing novels and competing as a ballroom and Latin dancer.
Josh Rouse
“Like a baseball player who quietly hits 30 home runs every year or a golfer who regularly finishes in the Top Ten, Josh Rouse’s continued streak of excellence is easy to ignore and maybe even downplay a little” — Tim Sendra, Allmusic.com
You don’t have to work hard to enjoy Rouse’s music. His songs present themselves to you with an open heart, an innate intelligence and an absolute lack of pretension. They are clear-eyed, empathetic and penetrating. Without pandering, they seek to satisfy both your ear and your understanding. The verses draw you in with telling detail, both musical and thematic, and the choruses lift and deliver. They resolve without seeming overly tidy or pat.
Josh Rouse was born in Nebraska, and following an itinerant upbringing he eventually landed in Nashville where he recorded his debut Dressed Like Nebraska (1998). The album’s acclaim led to tours with Aimee Mann, Mark Etzel and the late Vic Chestnut. The followup- Home (2000)—yielded the song “Directions” which Cameron Crowe used in his film Vanilla Sky.
“Every time I’ve made a record, I’ve tried to make it different from the last one,” says Rouse. “I always became fascinated by a different style of music. But at the end of the day, no matter how eclectic I try to make it, it’s my voice and melodic sensibility that tie things together.”
For his breakthrough album, 1972 (2003), which happens to be the year he was born, Rouse decided to cheer up a bit. Noting that he’d earned a reputation for melancholy, he says, with a laugh, “I figured this is my career, I might as well try to enjoy it.” While the Seventies are often identified with singer-songwriters, Rouse was primarily attracted to the warmer sound of albums back then, as well as the more communal feel of the soul music of that time. The follow up, Nashville (2005) continued the hot streak and expanded his audience further.
After relocating to Valencia, Spain with his wife Paz, Rouse has released a steady stream of high quality songs and albums. Subtitulo (2006) contained the international indie folk hit “Quiet Town”. On El Turista (2010) he even experimented with writing and singing some songs in Spanish. In 2014, he won a Goya Award (the Spanish equivalent of an Oscar) for best song for “Do You Really Want To Be In Love,” from the film ‘La Gran Familia Española.’
His latest release Going Places came together over the last two years when Josh Rouse found himself unable to tour and hunkered down with his family in Spain. Together with his Spanish band, he began workshopping new songs in a small local venue owned by a friend, resulting in ten road-ready tracks with a looser, more relaxed vibe.
The Nields
With their unparalleled ability to blend pop craftsmanship, folk sensibility, and the influences of ’60s classic rock and ’90s alternative, The Nields have created a distinctive musical style that defies categorization. Their songs, imbued with intelligence and occasional humor, offer poignant observations on life’s unexpected twists and turns. Apple Music describes their sound as “equal parts The Beatles, the cranberries, and Joni Mitchell,” a testament to their unique fusion of melodic sensibilities.
Having earned their stripes with 21 albums, major and independent record and publishing deals, and performances alongside luminaries such as 10,000 Maniacs, The Band, James Taylor, and the Indigo Girls, The Nields have unquestionably paid their dues, paving their own path, forging a remarkable musical legacy that continues to captivate audiences around the world.
The Nields’ most recent record is Circle of Days. An homage to the calendar––and really, time itself––this collection of songs is a testament to the band’s enduring creativity and unwavering commitment to their craft.
During the pandemic, Nerissa and Katryna Nields, the band’s frontwomen, took a daily walk with their beloved dogs, Greta and Hudson. The destination was a nearby lake, where Katryna would take a daily photo. Inspired by the ever-shifting seasons, they came to realize that each of Nerissa’s new songs could be intimately connected to a particular time of year, forming a musical cycle.
Circle of Days resonates with those twinned states of mind––hope and fear––that come with living through quite a number of circles of days. From the anxious yet hopeful musings of the winter solstice in “Darkest Day of the Year” to the qualified optimism of summer’s bounty in “Angel on the Roof,” the album weaves together a vibrant tapestry of melodies and narratives that encapsulate the ebb and flow of life.
Among the album’s standout tracks are “Brigid,” an Imbolc song paying homage to the ancient celebration of the pagan goddess who gave her name to what became St. Brigid’s Day–-or what we in the US know as Groundhog’s Day. “When I Was a DJ” explores the losses we all experience in careers that becomes increasingly irrelevant as Big Business takes over, leaving so many of us voiceless. “Death & Resurrection” addresses our current epidemic of so-called deaths of despair, while “That’s What We Do” serves as a stirring graduation anthem, celebrating the triumphs and aspirations of artists and activists.
The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow
The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow is a collaborative band that brings together 5 Massachusetts singer-songwriters in the vein of Americana, rock, and roots-folk music. The Roadshow is Greg Smith, David Tanklefsky, Billy Keane, Chris Merenda, and Tory Hanna.
Ryan Montbleau
A relentless road warrior and masterful wordsmith, Ryan Montbleau has spent the better part of thirty years cultivating a devoted audience on the strength of his ecstatic live shows and exhilarating sonic versatility. He’s collaborated with artists as diverse as Trombone Shorty, Galactic, Steel Pulse, Tall Heights, Martin Sexton, Anders Osborne, and George Porter, Jr; shared bills with the likes of Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ani DiFranco, Todd Snider, The Wood Brothers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Mavis Staples; and racked up more than 150 million streams on Spotify alone. NPR’s Mountain Stage compared his “eloquent, soulful songwriting” to Bill Withers and James Taylor, while Relix celebrated his “poetic Americana,” and The Boston Herald raved that “he’s made a career of confident, danceable positivity.”
Montbleau’s freewheeling new album finds him exploring the full spectrum of his influences like never before, touching on folk, rock, funk, soul, hip-hop, and reggae, all with a preternatural ease that belies the intensely focused craftsmanship behind it. The songs are sprawling and unpredictable, grappling with a modern world perpetually teetering on the edge of chaos, but the performances are relentlessly optimistic, insisting on hope and joy in the face of it all. The result is Montbleau’s most vulnerable and cathartic work yet, an album that acknowledges the inevitability of doubt and pain while at the same time celebrating our limitless capacity for growth and love.
