Thursday Concert Series

The Details

All shows begin at 8pm.
Seating: small parties are seated together, seating is assigned with preference to order of reservation.
Main Dining/ Concert room opens after sound check @ 6pm for pre-show meal seating.

Call 603-526-6899 for tickets or more information

CHERYL WHEELER

RE-SCHEDULED for this Wednesday, February 22nd - Limited tickets are now available! Please call (603) 526-6899

Cheryl Wheeler has to be seen to be appreciated. Nothing you read and nothing you hear from her albums prepares you for how good a performer she is.

You may not be familiar with Cheryl, but you have probably heard her music. She is very respected as a songwriter by her peers, which can be seen by how many of them record her songs. Chery's songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Dan Seals, Peter Paul and Mary, Kenny Loggins, Garth Brooks, Suzy Boggus, Melanie, Bette Midler, Maura O'Connell, Sylvia, Kathy Mattea, and Holly Near. If they think she is great, then you owe it to yourself to learn more if you aren't familiar with her.

From her albums you can tell that she is a gifted songwriter with a beautiful voice. From other people's comments about her you can learn that she is a natural story teller with a fantastic sense of humor. But until you see her in person, you never really believe what you've been told about her. Besides, almost half of the songs she does during her shows haven't been recorded!

Cheryl's concerts are more like what you would find at a comedy club than expect to find at a folk music concert. She will tell a story that has you rolling in the aisles, and then sing a song that leaves you wiping tears from your eyes. She will talk about some serious current event, and then sing a song that will have you howling with laughter. Her entire concert is a emotional roller coaster.

Thursday, March 1 - ANTJE DUVEKOT

Antje Duvekot has solidified her reputation as one of Boston's top singer songwriters with "Big Dream Boulevard" her debut studio release and "the Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer" her follow-up CD. The debut CD was produced by Seamus Egan, founder of the Irish super group, SOLAS. The project was released on acclaimed songwriter Ellis Paul's label, Black Wolf Records and quickly attracted international attention for Antje. It was voted "#1 Folk Release of 2006" by the Boston Globe and was named to the "Top10 Releases of the Year" by National Public Radio's, Folk Alley. Her follow up album "the Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer" was produced by Richard Shindell and along side with Richard features other "folk royalty" such as John Gorka, Lucy Kaplancky and Mark Erelli. It was voted #1 album of the year 2009 by WUMB 91.9 fm in Boston.

Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the prestigious, Kerrville (TX) "Best New Folk Award" and in one of the nation's top music markets, she won the Boston Music Award for "Outstanding Folk Act", three of the top prizes in the singer songwriter world.

Antje has extensive touring experience, criss-crossing the US and Europe several times. She is a compelling live performer and has been invited to play some of the top festivals including The Newport Folk Festival as well as the Mountain Stage, Philadelphia and Kerrville Festivals. Internationally, she's headlined the The Celtic Connections Festival in Scotland and the Tonder Festival in Denmark.

Thursday, March 15 - DAVID FRANCEY

From carpenter to songwriter – Since leaving construction and recording Torn Screen Door in 1999 Scottish-born Canadian, David Francey is recognized as one of today’s finest singer-songwriters. Francey has released 8 CDs to date. His most recent is "Seaway" - a collaberation with Mike Ford of Moxy Fruvous fame with songs based on their voyage on the M.V. Algoville. Francey’s CD, Right of Passage, earned him his third JUNO (Canada’s top music award) in less than 5 years. Francey also had the honour of receiving the prestigious SOCAN Folk Music Award.

David Francey was born in 1954 in Ayrshire, Scotland, where as a paper boy he got his first taste of the working life. He learned to read at an early age, and by age eleven was devouring the newspapers he delivered. This helped establish his interest in politics and world events while developing the social conscience that forms the backdrop of his songs.

In concert David is a singer and a storyteller. His wry humour and astute observations combined with his openhearted singing style have earned him a loyal following.

"David’s straightforward songs tell honest stories of real people and real places. Poetic perception and a keen eye for the heart of the matter are trademarks of the man and his music. His songs and stories are a direct connection for audiences seeking depth and meaning in the day-to-day." Shelter Valley Folk Festival

Thursday, March 22 - WILLY PORTER

How To Rob A Bank, the latest release from esteemed guitarist/singer-songwriter Willy Porter, showcases his continued growth as a songwriter and recording artist. Porter offers a rich blend of salt and sugar with tracks that move easily from rough-hewn electric edges into soulful irony with equal aplomb. Jeff Giles of Popdose.com says, “It’s another solid entry in a discography full of them, and one of the smarter, more durable albums of grown-up music we’re likely to get this year.”

Having toured with artists as diverse as Jeff Beck and Tori Amos, Porter capitalizes on his experience as a seasoned live performer on How To Rob A Bank. World-renowned guitarist Greg Koch had this to say about Porter’s new disc: “you get the same feeling listening to it as you do from one of his solo gigs...that you are in the presence of greatness…” Each song is a fresh crosspollination of styles, genres and musical forms.

"An acoustic picker with the Olympian speed of Leo Kottke bolstered by rootsy vocals and twisting, offbeat lyrics that evoked John Hiatt..." - Boston Globe

Thursday, April 12 - ARI HEST

The release of Sunset Over Hope Street on March 1, 2011 via Downtown Records’ Mercer Street imprint marks Ari Hest's first full-length album of new material in four years. That’s not to say he hasn’t been busy in the years in between.

After releasing The Break-In on Columbia Records in 2007, Ari decided it was time to take more creative control over his music and parted ways with his label. Utilizing all the technology available to him, in 2008 he launched his highly successful 52 project, a web based subscription service that found him writing, recording, and releasing a new song every Monday for an entire year. For those keeping track, that’s 52 new songs in 52 weeks! Performing Songwriter called these songs “high-caliber and heartfelt." At the end of the year, the subscribers were asked to vote for their 12 favorite songs from the project and the ones that got the most votes were then reworked and digitally released in the form of the album Twelve Mondays in early 2009. The Washington Post wrote “An urbane folk-rocker with a sonorous baritone, Ari Hest sounds like a man out of time" and said Twelve Mondays was “skillful, pretty and straightforward."

 Thursday, April 26 - JOHN GORKA

“The Preeminent Male Singer/Songwriter of the New Folk Movement” John Gorka is an honored icon of folk tradition. Energetic acoustic music that is not a trend, not a fad, but an expression of everyday life, is his trademark. John's rich baritone voice and unique song craft weave a magical spell that can only be described as 'Gorka.'
 
A “songwriter’s songwriter” in the tradition of Richard Thompson, John Hiatt and James McMurtry, the 50-year-old Gorka is a former winner of Texas’ prestigious Kerrville Folk Fest, and has toured with Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Christine Lavin and Dave Van Ronk — peers all.

"Gorka is widely heralded for the sophisticated intelligence and provocative originality of his songs." - Boston Globe