16 February 2018

Tribute to John Prine

On Friday, February 16, the music of legendary country-folk singer-songwriter, John Prine, will be celebrated at the me&thee. Patrick Coman, Jenee Halstead, Amy Fairchild and The Meadows Brothers will all be singing their favorite Prine songs as well as their original songs that have been inspired by Prine.

Concert starts at 8:00 pm

Tribute to John Prine

This tribute to John Prine has been spearheaded by Patrick Coman, who has brought similar tribute shows to Bob Dylan and Linda Ronstadt to the me&thee in the past. Prine was another natural choice to pay homage to this year. Coman says, “John Prine is one of those rare songwriters where all you need is one line to know a song is his, and after decades he stands alone as an artist with incredible integrity, passion, and grace.

Patrick Coman has been a fixture of Boston’s vibrant roots music scene as a performer, organizer of the New England Americana Festival and For the Sake of the Song series, and was the host of Local Folk on Boston’s Americana radio station, WUMB. He recently moved to Charlottesville, VA, so this show at the me&thee will be a nice welcome back to him. He is celebrating the release of a new album, TheTree of Life. Coman’s vocals bear the laid-back blues-inflected style of fellow Tulsa, OK natives JJ Cale and Leon Russell and some of his songs are strongly inspired by another Oklahoma figure of note, Woody Guthrie.

Jenee Halstead’s evolution from folk singer to ethereal rocker mirrors her journey from the West Coast to the East. As a youngster in Spokane, Washington, Jenee followed the lead of hippie parents and explored music freely. She heard something in it all — from medieval choral works, to Led Zeppelin to Dolly Parton — and it tugged at her, even as she earned her degree at Gonzaga. Steve Morse from the Boston Globe says of her latest EP, Edge of the World, “She takes you to the edge with some of the most beautifully contemplative, ambient arrangements of recent times. I put this record on and was awestruck.”

Amy Fairchild is a multi-award-winning songwriter in Boston, MA. She’s played at all the best venues in the area and shown herself to be a most highly rated roots-pop songwriter, having won a slot in the Lilith Fair in 1999 and top honors at the Kerrville Folk Festival and the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. Amy is also celebrating a new recording, No Satellites. Mike Greenblatt in The Aquarian Weekly says this, “When singer/songwriter Amy Fairchild released her impressive 2014 self-titled CD, it was so good that I fell in love with her immediately. Nobody’s Satellite is even better. Twenty years in she’s just reaching her near-brilliant stride.”

The Meadows Brothers’ (Ian and Dustin) distinct brand of roots music draws inspiration from a huge list of influences, combining folk, blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll into what the Boston Globe calls “An engagingly twangy sibling sound all their own.” Known for their blood harmonies, unsweetened songwriting, expressive guitars and bluesy harp, the brothers have played hundreds of shows all over their native New England, the Midwest and Great Lakes regions, and down the Eastern seaboard while continuing to hone their craft. Their album, Won’t Be Troubled, demonstrates the brothers’ keen ability to really rock in addition to the more mellow harmonies that they most are noted for.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Marblehead Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

  • Patrick Coman:
    The blues are in this dude’s veins and he mixes it very well with his folk and country influences. Like a fine blended whiskey, aged, and pour straight up . . . this stuff is smooth. Redline Roots
  • His plainspoken and sometimes gruff delivery reveals the restless soul of a wandering minstrel, very much in the dusty-soled tradition of wayfaring strangers such as Gram Parsons, Steve Earle and Neil Young Dan Bolles, Seven Days (Burlington, VT)
  • . . .
  • The Meadows Brothers:
    Singing guitarists Dustin and Ian Meadows prove that roots music is an unending resource, turning early influences gleaned from the Band and Gillian Welch into an engagingly twangy sibling sound all their own. Boston Globe
  • This is the stuff I grew up on; good guitar playing, harmonica, a little steel guitar action like a train moving down the track. It keeps you grounded, reminds you of where you started this journey, lets you go back to those early days when singer-songwriters ruled the day. These brothers are the real deal. 50thirdand3rd.com
  • Ian and Dustin Meadows are jack-of-all-trades instrumentalists who have come together to create a truly amazing musical experience. Their sound is a throwback to all of the great folk/country/bluegrass/blues that was kicking around both prior to and shortly after World War II, as well as the great folk revival of the ’60s. Chip McCabe, Lonesome Noise.
  • . . .
  • Amy Fairchild
    If this stone-cold roots-pop beauty doesn’t catch on, it’s everybody else’s fault, not hers. Mike Greenblatt, Goldmine
  • Amy Fairchild combines a sweet voice with a decided knack for melody and is a talented songwriter to boot. The Noise
  • . . .
  • Jenee Halstead
    She takes you to the edge with some of the most beautifully contemplative, ambient arrangements of recent times. I put this record on and was awestruck. Steve Morse, Boston Globe
  • It’s like PJ Harvey at her menacing and terrifying best. Andy Fife, Q Magazine
  • . . .
  • Amy Kucharik
    Somerville MA’s Amy Kucharik and her ukulele kinda stole the show . . . with the light, upbeat sounds of her instrument and voice against the dark humor of her lyrics, giving the crowd a good chuckle. Texas Outside
  • Whether solo or with band, the superb musicianship and songwriting combined with stage presence that can only be earned is an experience not to miss. Tom Bianchi, host of the Burren Backroom Concert Series

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