21 September 2018

Hayley Reardon

Ben Higginbotham opens

Marblehead’s own Hayley Reardon makes a return appearance at the me&thee on Friday, September 21. Hayley has been playing at the me&thee since she was twelve years old. Now 22, she’s a seasoned professional on the acoustic music circuit around the country and abroad. ¶ Ben Higginbotham opens the show.

Concert starts at 8:00 pm

Hayley Reardon  

When Hayley Reardon first picked up a guitar in July 2008, this young songstress uncovered both a deep passion and an obvious natural talent, unleashing a flood of beautifully constructed, delicately phrased songs. Hayley’s latest release, Good, was entirely fan-funded and shows how far she has progressed since her early days in front of a mic or in the recording studio. Good represents a confident musician, one most capable and commanding of her talents. Lorne Entress (Lori McKenna, Catie Curtis, Erin McKeown) produced the album with beautiful arrangements that highlight the powerful messages in her songs.

Reardon’s sterling debut album, 2012’s Where the Artists Go, achieved widespread acclaim in New England. In fact, Reardon was named a Bostonian of the Year by Boston Globe Magazine in 2012 in celebration of not only her music but her work as a vessel for empowerment, especially for young girls who found inspiration in her lyrics.

With a voice as distinctively rich and a contemplative sincerity in her songwriting, Reardon has more in common with Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams, and Tracy Chapman than many of today’s young pop singer-songwriters. Her lyrics are wise beyond her years. Hayley’s 2014 release, Wayfindings, expanded her international footprint via syndicated public radio show “Art of the Song,” and praise from Paste, Performer Magazine, Americana UK, and American Songwriter, which referred to its first single, “Numb & Blue,” as a “melancholy little masterpiece.”

. . .

Ben Higginbotham

Berklee College of Music graduate Ben Higginbotham, originally from Dallas, opens the show. He lives in Boston but splits his time between New York and Nashville, co-writing and gigging. He has played venues such as The Bitter End in NYC and The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, as well as countless places in and around Boston. Ben’s music can best be described as Alternative Folk. He is inspired by a wide range of artists, from Bon Iver and The Staves to Ben Folds and Randy Newman to Kurt Elling and Al Jarreau.

  • With a blend of sparse electric and acoustic instrumentation that underscores the alternating lightheartedness and hushed, intimacy of [Hayley Reardon’s] vocals, the teen bullying advocate establishes herself as a Jewel-like storyteller who is equally insightful whether she’s self-reflecting, making social observations or chronicling a hopeful journey. Music Connection
  • With a contagious glow and maturity well beyond her years, Hayley’s definitely a talent worth tracking. Jeremy Ames, No Depression
  • it’s impressive just how much Reardon’s quiet and contemplative musings can contribute to creating such a lingering impression. Lee Zimmerman, Blurt
  • Brilliantly moving folk/pop with a lyrical depth and soul. Performer Magazine

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