The me&thee is pleased to present two dynamic young performers, Ari Hest and Emily Elbert. Ari Hest got out of a major label deal and spent the entire calendar year of 2008 on his ‘52’ project — to write a song a week for the whole year. His latest CD, Twelve Mondays, is a result of that effort. Emily Elbert, WUMB’s 2008 Best New Artist, and a crowd favorite in her two previous appearances on our stage, opens the show.

While attending NYU, Ari Hest began to focus on his musical career by touring colleges and clubs across the country. Under his own recording label, Project 4, Ari released one EP, Incomplete, and two albums, Come Home and Story after Story, selling approximately 20,000 copies. Signed to a recording contract, Ari went on to release several more albums, Someone To Tell, Guilty Hearts EP, and The Green Room Sessions. After releasing The Break In in May 2007, he opted out of his label deal so that he could have more control over his art. He then embarked on his ambitious ‘52’ project, during which he spent all of last year immersed in an unprecedented effort — to write, record, produce and release one new song per week, for 52 weeks in a row.

His newest CD, Twelve Mondays, features reworked versions of 12 fan-selected songs, culled from the past year’s extraordinary output. It’s a renegade path that reveals the “New Music Industry” at its best, and allows Hest’s impressive work to find the audience he wants it to find. Twelve Mondays showcases the diversity of Hest’s songwriting — from the haunting, mini-masterpiece “Broken Voices” to the USA TODAY “Listen Up Music Pick” “The Weight,” which was praised as a “poignant, acoustic reverie . . .” — From the wistful travelogue “Ride The Brake” to the radio-friendly “Dead End Driving,” it’s a remarkable mix that’s distinguished by the intelligence, nuance and range of Hest’s material. Add to that the fact that these songs were written amid the week-to-week gauntlet of ‘52,’ and it’s all the more impressive.

Ari said, “When I got out of my record deal the summer of 2007, I decided it was time to try something a little different. It felt great to be an independent artist again, and I was more inspired than ever to write and record. I was looking for a new way to present my music, so my manager and I came up with the idea of a project which we call “52.” Starting January 7th, 2008, I released one new, original song every week for a year through my ‘52’ website. The project was a big success as I easily surpassed my goal of 1,000 members and, more importantly, I wrote a lot of quality songs throughout the year.”

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Twenty-year old Emily Elbert is a singer/songwriter with deep musical roots and a clear love for creative expression. Elbert is quickly growing in the national spotlight. Her lifelong passion for music from around the world and distinctive combination of jazz, folk, soul, blues, and pop creates a sound that engages the hearts, minds, and ears of listeners around the globe. Emily blends a hip musical perspective with an in-depth knowledge of classic songs to create unique vocal and guitar arrangements. Elbert’s debut CD, Bright Side, contains eleven original songs that she wrote, arranged, performed, and recorded at Bob Gentry’s New Masters Studio in Tyler, Texas.

When performing live, her sets include music from Bright Side, as well as new compositions and adaptations of music ranging from Joni Mitchell to Michael Jackson. She has opened for G Love & Special Sauce, Kaki King, the Wood Brothers, Patty Larkin (here at the me&thee), Ruthie Foster, Marcia Ball and Ben Taylor, Raised in Texas, Emily is currently on full scholarship at the Berklee College of Music. She continues to tour in the Boston area and beyond — in 2008, she was a featured performer at the North American Folk Music Alliance in Memphis.

Ari Hest achieved the extraordinary in 2008 by writing a song every week that listeners could download from his website. The best part: His songs are high-caliber and deeply heartfelt. PERFORMING SONGWRITER Magazine

A prolific songwriter and a captivating live performer. The Boston Globe

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The problem with reviewing 17-year-old singer/song-writer Emily Elbert’s debut album, Bright Side, is that there aren’t enough suitable adjectives in the English language to describe her talent (y mi Espanol no es bueno). What comes to mind are obvious words such as electrifying, arresting, heavenly, breathtaking, hypnotizing, and serene. . . .

If an astonishing voice and complementary instrumental skills aren’t enough for you (though they ought to be), Emily is also a competent and imaginative lyricist. . . .

[H]er youth imbues her sound and style. If she were any older, her subject matter, enthusiasm, insight, and voice would probably be different, less powerful, and less invigorating. Chad Jones, pegasus news complete review here »