6 September 2019

Daring & Stahl, Novick & Van Duser, Bill Staines: The Me&Thee All Stars

The me&thee celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special concert featuring the Me&Thee All-Stars: Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl, Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick, and Bill Staines on Friday, September 6. There will also be a special ribbon-​cutting ceremony with Chamber of Commerce members to mark this landmark anniversary.

Concert starts at 8:00 pm

Me&Thee All Stars

In the ’70s, the Boston Globe called them “the darlings of the folk scene.” Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl wrote their signature song “Marblehead Morning” back then and, of course, the evocative ballad was a huge local (as well as national) hit. They have been making music — together and separately — ever since. Daring’s soundtracks for filmmakers such as John Sayles’s (Return of the Secaucus Seven, The Secret of Roan Inish, Lone Star, Brother from Another Planet) and for PBS’s Frontline and Nova series have kept him busy as a composer, but he has never stopped performing. Stahl’s career branched out into jazz standards as well as folk music. She has recorded themes for PBS’s Masterpiece Theater and music for movie and television soundtracks. Lately, she has been working on a theatre piece about baby-boom women — a memoir with songs — with co-writer Harriet Reisin.

A duo for more than 40 years, Billy Novick and Guy Van Duser have performed in concerts, clubs and festivals all over North America and Europe. They are no strangers to the Me&Thee and have shared the stage on many occasions. Acoustic guitarist Van Duser and clarinetist Novick blend their musical sensibilities into an upbeat and soulful stage presence. Their repertoire dips into Gershwin, Ellington, and Jelly Roll Morton, incorporating original music that ushers the swing era into the 21st century.

Bill Staines needs no introduction in these parts. From the time he started out in the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the ’60s to right now, he has been a regularly featured performer at the Me&Thee ever since 1970. His fun-loving stage presence adds to the flow of the folk classics he has written and performs. His songs, among the most popular and durable on the folk scene, have been collected in grade school music books, church hymnals, and the classic anthology Rise Up Singing, which includes eight of his songs. Among the top Bill Staines favorites are “A Place in the Choir,” “Old Dogs,” “River,” and “My Sweet Wyoming Home.”

  • Talk about a long hiatus! Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl were folk luminaries back in the ’70s, opening ears with their classic song Marblehead Morning. Then they took a long break — Mason to compose music for films, Jeanie to perform for PBS and start a museum-planning business — but 35 years later they have reunited and recaptured their youth with a sterling new album. It is a beautiful work of art, featuring five original songs rich in wisdom, experience and graceful harmony vocals, along with festive covers from Bob Wills’ San Antonio Rose to Roger Miller’s King of the Road. There remains a magic to their collaboration and they’re augmented by an A-team or Boston all-stars . . . it’s great to see Mason and Jeanine making such sweet music together once again. Steve Morse, Boston Globe
  • Mason and Jeanie still sound great together. . . . There is a timelessness to the songs. . . . Mike Regenstreif, Folk Roots/Folk Branches
  • . . .
  • Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick
  • . . . two elegant gents of the swing music world. . . . Garrison Keillor, Prairie Home Companion
  • They’ll stun you with the mastery of their playing. . . . Birmingham, AL News
  • Riveting echoes of an earlier jazz era. . . . Washington Post
  • . . .
  • Bill Staines has been my hero since 1977. He carries on where Woody left off — carrying on the tradition of stories and characters you wish you knew. Nanci Griffith
  • Staines is one of the best songwriters in folk music today, penning lyrics that evoke a sense of place and a generous spirit to go along with his pretty melodies. Associated Press
  • There is no better writer of instantly memorable singalong choruses in this genre of music! The Boston Globe

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