A beloved and seasoned veteran to many audiences, a classically-trained musician with a powerful voice that evokes Rickie Lee Jones and Bruce Springsteen, a singer-songwriter, producer and professor (she teaches at Berklee College of Music) with her own label, there is very little that Melissa Ferrick can’t do.

Ferrick’s 12th studio release, Melissa Ferrick, which she wrote, engineered, sang and played on, and produced has been described as a “coming home” of sorts. The ten tracks on this acoustic album ring with a new level of maturity, honesty and the same driving, impassioned pop hooks that have drawn fans to her shows for years and put her in league with other female power musicians like Ani DiFranco, k.d. lang and Tegan & Sara.

Ferrick’s performance at the me&thee is also quite literally a coming home for this North Shore native, who grew up in nearby Ipswich. Music is in her DNA as the young Ferrick recalls accompanying her father, who also managed bands, to jazz and rock clubs and soaking up the vibrant North Shore music scene. As a child, she cut her teeth on the violin but learned to play trumpet and bass guitar. At 16, she was already writing songs and performing and touring the world with the esteemed New England Conservatory’s Youth Orchestra and later earned a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music where she studied songwriting and trumpet.

The young Ferrick dove into Boston’s thriving local rock scene, playing with different bands, until she decided to leave Boston for New York City. There she spent her days working at Chrysalis Records and Right Track Recording studios and her nights performing at the legendary music venue The Bitter End. Her breakthrough came in 1991 when she was invited to open for the British indie singer Morrissey on his U.S. and U.K. tour. Upon her return from this whirlwind experience, the then 20-year-old Ferrick was promptly offered deals with three major record labels. The rest is history.

After signing with Atlantic Records in 1993 and releasing Massive Blur, her debut, she released a second album before founding her own label, Right On Records, in 2000. Ferrick put her label on hold for a while and worked with New York-based MPress Records. Both albums with MPress, 2011’s Still Right Here and 2013’s the truth, garnered critical and popular acclaim, earned an International Acoustic Music Award, and two Independent Music Awards. The latter album was self-produced and represents the sound she had developed over the course of her career, a blend of Americana/Alt-Country.

This prolific, hardworking performer is also known for her dynamic and celebrated live shows where she draws audiences into her inner world and shares the backstories and inspiration behind many of her songs. Old and new fans alike will not be disappointed when Melissa Ferrick returns to the me & thee stage to steal musical hearts for a pre-Valentine’s Day performance.

Photo by Shervin Lainez

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The young Boston-based ambient folk duo of Deni Hlavinka and Chris West who make up The Western Den create lush, transporting music with layered and intricate harmonies. With their gorgeous and sophisticated arrangements of guitar, violin, cello, and even contrabass on tunes like “Carter Hall,” their songs feel alternately ancient and modern, like a Child ballad for the 21st century.

Barely three years old, The Western Den have already shared the stage with rocker Melissa Etheridge, local modern folk hero Meg Hutchinson and none other than the Boston Pops and have built a sizable following on the strength of three solid EPs. This is also a band with a heart and concern for social justice. Last year, The Western Den raised over $1,000 for UNICEF’s Typhoon Haiyan relief in the Philippines and in December all of the proceeds from their EPs went directly to No Kid Hungry, an organization committed to ending child hunger in America.

• A masterful performer, Melissa Ferrick has established a singular pedigree that ought not be denied. Blurt Magazine
• Ferrick is an elite, enduring, and constantly evolving artist, in a class with Ani DiFranco, Rachael Sage, Tegan & Sara, and k.d. lang — female power musicians, writers, and vocalists whose popularity is driven by fans as opposed to media and record companies, and fueled by their own tenacity. No Depression
• Ferrick punches out a perfect pop hook with her sublime cadence and ace acoustic guitar strumming. She unwinds the tale of an August night when the stars exalted the spirits of a whole seaside town — and helped Ferrick get good with getting old. Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald
• She appeared at times to be channeling Bruce Springsteen and Rickie Lee Jones simultaneously. . . . When Ferrick sings, she does not use her inside voice Devra First/The Boston Globe
• Her live shows are a unique experience as she draws the audience into her inner world, sharing the back stories and inspiration behind many of her songs.Autostraddle.com
• . . .
• Newfound favorites The Western Den are a young ambient folk duo prone to narrative lyricism, hauntingly beautiful arrangements, and gentle, etherial harmonies. (Joshua Farber, Cover Lay Down)
• Their snakelike harmonies are signature, slithering, intertwining, and balancing off one another with grace. (Jeeyoon Kim, Allston Pudding, BDC Wire Feature)
• People under the spell of The Western Den often watch them with their heads tilted upwards, their mouths slightly open, pulsing subconsciously in time to the music. It’s like observing someone having a very strange dream. Zoe Atlas, Sound of Boston: Local Spotlight
• All the Birds is a gorgeous ambient folk project that is far too short at four songs. Lush orchestration and acoustic guitars underscore a fantastic vocal performance with rich, storytelling-focused lyrics (Taylor Hohulin, Independent Blogger)
• The songs on Battle Hymns are the type of music that makes one’s soul ache with both sorrow and joy. Let it wash over you and soak in the blend of calming ambient soundscapes and compelling folk harmonies and narratives. The Western Den is one to watch out for. (Josh Hamm, Indie Vision Music)

• Melissa Ferrick’s

• Website | Video | Interview

• The Western Den’s

• Website | Video | Interview