Music & Events

Tom Rush is a gifted musician and performer, whose shows offer a musical celebration…a journey into the tradition and spectrum of what music has been, can be, and will become. His distinctive guitar style, wry humour and warm, expressive voice have made him both a legend and a lure to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the rib-aching laughter of terrific story-telling, the sweet melancholy of ballads and the passion of gritty blues.

Rush’s impact on the American music scene has been profound. He helped shape the folk revival in the ’60s and the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s, his music having left its stamp on generations of artists. James Taylor told Rolling Stone, “Tom was not only one of my early heroes, but also one of my main influences.” Country music star Garth Brooks has credited Rush with being one of his top five musical influences. Rush has long championed emerging artists. His early recordings introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor, and in more recent years his Club 47® concerts have brought artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin to wider audiences when they were just beginning to build their own reputations.

Tom Rush is a gifted musician and performer, whose shows offer a musical celebration…a journey into the tradition and spectrum of what music has been, can be, and will become. His distinctive guitar style, wry humour and warm, expressive voice have made him both a legend and a lure to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the rib-aching laughter of terrific story-telling, the sweet melancholy of ballads and the passion of gritty blues.

Rush’s impact on the American music scene has been profound. He helped shape the folk revival in the ’60s and the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s, his music having left its stamp on generations of artists. James Taylor told Rolling Stone, “Tom was not only one of my early heroes, but also one of my main influences.” Country music star Garth Brooks has credited Rush with being one of his top five musical influences. Rush has long championed emerging artists. His early recordings introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor, and in more recent years his Club 47® concerts have brought artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin to wider audiences when they were just beginning to build their own reputations.

Willy Porter continues a musical and personal odyssey spanning over two decades, 11 albums, and multiple continents. His journey has been defined by an inquisitive love for humanity and the language that describes what we all hold to be true. Porter’s songs weave a universal perspective about the questions, struggles, and triumphs of human existence. His live shows are guitar-driven grit, soul, silence and muscle– at times electrifying, dynamic, and unique in the way that Porter’s voice blends and fuses with his fret work.

“Porter accentuates well – rendered tales with spit – fire – percussive acoustic guitar strumming and fiery color – chord picking.“
— Billboard

“[Willy Porter] can captivate an audience as completely as can an entire rock band.“
— Washington Times

Chuck E. Costa and Mira Costa, are an Upstate New York based indie folk-pop duo featuring what Bob Boilen (NPR’s All Songs Considered) calls “excellent harmonies” & Huffington Post calls, “Two of the loveliest male-female voices you might ever hear this or any other year.” The group’s 2020 release, Stumbling Home, dubbed “otherworldly” by RollingStone marks the duo’s third full-length album, and the duo’s first primary recording / engineering credits on one of their albums, as well as that of co-producers—teaming up with recent Grammy and Tony award winner Todd Sickafoose (Hadestown, Anais Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, Andrew Bird). Previous releases from The Sea The Sea—Love We Are We Love (2014), In the Altogether (2016 / EP), and From The Light (2018)—have been praised by outlets including NPR, American Songwriter, and No Depression, and the animated video for their song "Waiting" sparked viral interest from Buzzfeed and Pitchfork, as well as inclusion at the international TED 2015 conference.

The band has garnered features across all music platforms including Apple Music “Best of the Week” and “A-List Singer/Songwriter,” gathering 20+ million streams on Spotify to-date. Live performance broadcast appearances of The Sea The Sea include Mountain Stage, whose host Larry Groce calls them "ready to take their place among the best young male/female duos now performing,” Audiotree, and Paste Music / Daytrotter—recently describing the band as "defined by their infallible vocal harmonies and their unconventional song arrangements. The Sea The Sea is a pop band only in their melodic infectiousness—otherwise they are at their best when subverting conventions."

Ellis Paul doesn’t just write songs; he’s a guitar-carrying reporter who covers the human condition and details the hopes, loves, losses of those he observes, turning their stories into luminous pieces of music that get under your skin and into your bloodstream. And much like the artists who have influenced him, everyone from Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon to the singer-songwriter who is undoubtedly his greatest inspiration, Woody Guthrie, Paul weaves deeply personal experiences with social issues and renders them as provocative works that are as timely as they are timeless. Born and raised in Maine, Paul attended Boston College on a track scholarship and in the evenings became a fixture on the city’s open mic circuit. After winning a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition, he caught the ear of folk luminary Bill Morrissey, who produced his indie album Say Something in 1993. This led to a seven-album contract with Rounder Records and the 1994 album, Stories.

His songs have appeared in several blockbuster films (Me, Myself, and Irene; Shallow Hal, Hall Pass) and have been covered by award winning country artists (Sugarland, Kristian Bush, Jack Ingram). Through a steady succession of albums of his own – a remarkable 23 releases so far – and a constant touring presence around the world, Paul’s audience has grown into a loyal legion of fans. Along the way, he has picked up an impressive number of awards including the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award, 15 Boston Music Awards, An Honorary Doctorate from the University of Maine, the 2019 International Acoustic Music Awards Artist of the Year and most recently his album, The Storyteller’s Suitcase, was named the 2019 NERFA Album of the Year. His new album “55” touches on the necessity of gratitude in a difficult era of the pandemic and divided political stances on his own imprint, Rosella Records.

Jon Pousette-Dart is best known as an American Classic and Folk Rock songwriter, musician, and performing artist.  Growing up in Suffern, NY with a household of artists, including his father, grandfather, and sister, he separated himself by picking up a guitar at the age of 10 and mapping out a life in music before he ever attended a little league game. Since then it’s been a long and well-traveled road in the world of music.

The Pousette-Dart Band, led by Jon Pousette-Dart carved a place in the landscape of American music in the 1970’s. They were a mainstay of album radio, a favorite on the college circuit, and became one of the busiest touring groups in the US working with such acts as The Byrds, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat, The Eagles, James Taylor, The J. Geils Band, Eddie Money, Manfred Mann, Jonathan Edwards, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Emmylou Harris, Gary Wright, Robert Palmer, Randy Newman, Journey, Billy Joel, NRBQ, and many more including the now famous Frampton Comes Alive tour, and the progressive Yes Fragile tour – playing arenas from Coast to Coast.

While the original group dis-banded in the early 80’s, Jon kept performing with original drummer Eric Parker and continued writing and producing into the 90’s, when he returned to Nashville to begin recording again on his own. He’s turned out five solo albums including 2015’s “TALK”, a cohesive selection of his best songs to date. He has co-written with some of the finest writers in the country including Darrell Scott, Gary Nicholson, Jaime Kyle, John Bohlinger, Angelo, Sally Barris and Angela Kaset. Jon is currently touring solo, duo and with his highly entertaining band featuring Steve Roues on bass and harmony vocals, Eric Parker (Joe Cocker, Mick Taylor) on drums, and Jim Chapdelaine (Al Anderson, Phoebe Snow) on guitar/vocals, who co-produced several of Jon’s records.

Jon’s continued writing and travels have kept him engaged in Nashville where the original bands first albums were recorded with Norbert Putnam. He has continued performing nationally and writing steadily with many of the finest writers that embody the best of the American music scene.

David Mallett hails from a small town in northern Maine, and in a career that spans four decades, his music has traveled to all corners of the world. His songs have been recorded by more than 150 artists, including Pete Seeger, Alison Krauss, John Denver, Emmylou Harris, even the Muppets, and his "Garden Song" has become an American folk classic.

He has performed throughout America and Europe. The Bangor Daily News recognized him as one of the 58 most memorable Mainers of the 20th Century and the readers of FOLKWAX (folkwax.com) honored him with both 2003 Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for "Artist in Me".

"David Mallett is the best folk singer alive in America today." — Cape Cod Times

"Mallett is a first-rate folk singer and writer. His portraits and townscapes are camera sharp, and his knowledge of his subjects is profound." -- Billboard

He has been called a "giant of the steel strings" and "one of the true treasures of American acoustic music," and is considered to be one of the modern masters and innovators of the acoustic guitar, autoharp and 6-string banjo. He has absorbed a vast repertoire of American contemporary and roots music and woven it into his own colorful, personal and distinctive style. His 32 recordings on the Woodpecker record label showcase his mastery of many instruments and styles of acoustic music, from hip folk to slashing slide guitar blues to bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, ragtime, and even classical.