Antje Duvekot has solidified her reputation as one of America’s top emerging singer songwriters with Big Dream Boulevard, her debut studio release. This release was voted “#1 Folk Release of 2006” by the Boston Globe and was named to the “Top 10 Releases of the Year” by National Public Radio’s Folk Alley. 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. In December of 2007, The Bank of America featured Antje’s song “Merry Go Round” in a national TV advertising campaign seen by millions, including (for all you Patriot fans) the 2008 Super Bowl audience.

Many found her 2006 performance at the me&thee electrifying (a co-bill with Rachael Davis).

. . .

Boston-based Chris O’Brien’s CD Lighthouse has caught the attention of many music fans. He was chosen from a pool of nearly 1,000 contestants to appear on Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” in the “People in Their Twenties” talent contest, was one of Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s Emerging Artists, and he also was a finalist in the Mountain Stage New Song competition. On the local Boston front, Chris was named WUMB’s New Artist of the Year. In addition to all that, Chris recently won second place in the prestigious Telluride Troubadour contest in Colorado and was a finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. He also appeared at a Farm Aid event and a big benefit show for the ABC show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” for a deserving family in Vermont.

Chris grew up surrounded by music and musicians. He was raised on a steady diet of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. Influenced by Martin Sexton, Richard Shindell and, family friend Dar Williams, he has been crafting his own songs since the age of 14. Chris is heading into the studio early in 2009 and has some new songs to share with the me&thee audience.

Duvekot has gotten hotter, faster than any local songwriter in recent memory. Her songs feel at once fresh faced and firmly rooted, driven by the whispery sensuality of her voice. She believes in the redemptive power of the shared secret; and is utterly unafraid to mine the darkest corners of her life for songs that turn fear into resilience and isolation into community. The Boston Globe

When I first heard Antje I knew I was witnessing something very special. She creates an entire, detailed world in verse, and takes you there with beautiful and understated melody. Her songs are stunning paintings of color and shade and always generate the heat and light that real art should. In an unpoetic and ‘in your face’ world, she is lyrical and subtle. Neil Dorfsman

. . .

Chris O’Brien picks up where Martin Sexton, Richard Thompson and John Gorka leave off, a young writer with his eyes on gentle, melodic horizons and matter of the soul. Club Passim

As a music fan, I live for those moments when I hear a performer for the first time and detect unmistakable magic. It happened with Shawn Colvin in 1989 and Patty Griffin in 1996. Last summer, O’Brien caught my ear he”s an uncommonly talented lyricist, with a voice that feels comfortable and familiar at first listen. Michael Witthaus Eagle Times, Springfield, VT