Theater
Channel Z presents:
"Bug" 
In October |
|
|
|
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, October 3 • 7 PM |
|
Poetry Open Mic |
| $3 |
|
With Featured Reader
Michael Czarnecki |
 With Featured Reader
Michael Czarnecki is the founder of Foothills Publishing, which has released more than 250 chapbooks or books since opening in 1986. Michael has given over 200 featured readings across the country.
When not traveling as a poet, publisher, oral memoirist and encourager, Michael lives simply with his family in the hills of central New York.
|
|
| Top |
 " . . . stunning guitarist, easily on a par with Bonnie Raitt." -Billboard
"A virtuoso guitar player and mood-shaper." - New York Times
She's an incisive songwriter full of wordplay and detail, richly textured singer, and hilarious performer all rolled into one. Born and raised in the mid-west, Patty launched her career in Boston in the late '80s.
As a witty and passionate explorer of the intersection between folk and pop, she has earned an unprecedented 11 Boston Music Awards and a place on America's most prominent folk stages. Her rise has taken her out of Caffè Lena's orbit since the early '90s. It's a treat to have her back on our stage at long last.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
| Friday, October 5 • 8 PM |
|
Sonicbids Songwriters Showcase |
| $10 |
|
|
| |
| Early last summer we posted an invitation to songwriters everywhere to try out for this showcase. We received applications from as far away as Alaska, Tennessee and Quebec. We feel that our three finalists are a good match for Caffè Lena's audience and traditions, and have the commitment to their craft necessary to achieve success as full-time touring musicians. We also selected for variety in order to give you a richly eclectic evening that samples from a big range of contemporary acoustic music. Come enjoy! |
| |
 Bar Scott
www.barscott.com
Bar Scott is a keyboard artist, singer and songwriter from the Hudson Valley. Her goal as an artist is "to create beauty." Bar's sound has been described as silky, lush, graceful, ethereal and deeply meaningful. She has accrued an impressive resume, with six albums out, 9 consecutive years as an ASCAP Special Awards winner. Surprisingly, what clinched the deal for us is her utterly funky cover of Sly & Family Stone's "Everyday People." |
| |
 Larry Zarella
www.larryzarella.com
Several years ago Larry Zarella left his Cape Cod home and a Berklee School of Music education to strike out for the Alaskan wilderness. He fulfilled his dream of building a log cabin by hand and living off the land. Last year Larry returned to Massachusetts with a body of songs inspired by the wondrous natural world and the unique perspective of a completely independent man. His gentle songs, praised by Bill Staines, are full of honest humor, depth and beauty. |
| |
 Josh Brooks
www.joshbrooks.bigheavyworld.com
Josh Brooks' music is reflective of his Vermont up-bringing: a little bit rural, a little bit poetic, and plenty sincere. His songs "demonstrate a dramatic and individual style that is all his own" (Robert Resnik, Vermont Public Radio) but clearly are fed by influences such as Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. Josh's live performances have good rhythm, pacing, and plenty of old-fashioned storytelling |
|
|
| Top |
 Ember Swift and her partner Lyndell Montgomery deal with the heaviest, most politically charged topics of the day, but with a spirit that leaves audiences feeling light and filled with hope.
 Their music (peformed in both English & French) is a mix of folk, funk, punk, jazz, comedy, and mid-east-asian music. Featuring tricks like vocal looping, bowed guitar, and the absolute funkiest bass playing, they come out sounding, in the words of one reviewer, like: "The bilingual love child of Paul Simon and Laurie Anderson who is being raised by Joan Jett."
Special Guest Amy Steinberg will release her eighth independent cd, 'Fall Down to Fly' this fall. Her rollicking roots rock sound is mixed with deep, original songwriting, intoxicating vocals and hilarious banter. |
|
| Top |
|
|
|
| Sunday, October 7 • 7 PM |
|
Songs of 1965 |
| $15 |
|
Benefit for Caffè Lena |
Our benefit nights have become the stuff of legend in recent years, with demand for tickets always exceeding capacity (reserve early!). This event will once again feature regional bands and solo artists from a wide-range of genres, this time playing the songs that would have been heard on the Caffè Lena stage in that musically rich year of 1965. As we go to press we are continuing to develop the line up of artists and songs.
Check back with our website later in September for details.
Performers include: Phil Drum & Willie Moak; Ramblin' Jug Stompers; Addie & Olin; John Kribs & Friends; Mark Tolstrup; Ashley Pond; Dry Bones and Dave LaPlante & Gloria Jean. |
|
| Top |
 Jesse Colin Young, lead singer of The Youngbloods, took the nation by storm when the group's legendary single, "Get Together," became a worldwide hit.
Jesse grew up in Queens listening to rock-n-roll and rhythm and blues. He became part of the burgeoning East Coast folk scene in the early '60s. An extraordinary singer and songwriter with an undying passion for peace and justice, Jesse Colin Young opens his heart to the world with each new song he writes.
In this rare, intimate performance he'll be joined by his stellar 4-piece Celtic Mambo Band featuring congas, violin, fretless acoustic bass, and harmony vocals.
|
|
| Top |
 New York City is not frequently equated with country music, but that's where Yarn, a hot up-and-coming alt-country band, got its start. Yarn is led by vocalist, songwriter and classically trained guitarist Blake Christiana, originally of Schenectady. Sweet, sensitive lyrics ride along on bouncy, harmony-rich country melodies rooted in bluegrass and influenced by more modern artists such as Gram Parsons and Gillian Welch.
Blake on guitar and lead vocals is joined by Trevor MacArthur on guitar and harmonies, Andrew Hendryx on mandolin, Rick Bugel on bass, Jay Frederick on drums, and Josh Roy Brown on dobro.
|
|
| Top |
 Veteran singer-songwriter Tom Pacheco wears his heart on his sleeve. In a career spanning more than 35 years, over a dozen albums and 2,500 original songs, Pacheco has addressed social and political issues, created a world of real and imagined characters, and made a living treasury of unforgettable images.
Over the years his work has been covered by Jefferson Starship, the Band, Rick Danko, Richie Havens, and John Hall. His new material, sung in his understated baritone, expresses deeply poignant regret at the state of our nation, all while maintaining hope for a brighter future.
|
|
| Top |
 Few people have spent more hours playing Caffè Lena's stage than Willie Moak, who has managed our open mic for years. Every week he brings a hush over the room when he pulls out his guitar and plays one of his original songs in his unique, percussive guitar style, singing in a clear tenor voice poignant lyrics of love, family, and the state of the nation. s
Joining Willie will be Saratoga's Phil Drum, a versatile guitarist and singer who covers the folk and blues classics with great competence, fingerpicks the Star Spangled Banner, and digs at the Bush White House with savvy original lyrics.
|
|
| Top |
 Enjoy a night of old time string band music, fiddle tunes, and country blues with this Saratoga trio featuring "Banjo Dan" Hubbs on two-finger banjo, Mare Hill on vocals and Matt Gomm on mandolin and guitar.
They bring back the sounds of the Carter Family and Uncle Dave Macon, cover Lucinda Williams and the Rolling Stones, and play originals steeped in Americana.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
| Saturday, October 20 • 8 PM |
|
Martha Gallagher |
| $12/10 |
|
"Songs From the Stones" |
| www.adkharper.com |
 Celtic harper, singer, and songwriter Martha Gallagher draws on a background of trad. Celtic, jazz, classical, folk, and blues. She has been delighting audiences for nearly 30 years with her refreshing original music and expansive approach to the Celtic harp. She returns to share with Caffe Lena audiences a truly unique evening of music.
The evening will begin with her collection of original music, Songs from the Stones. Inspired by headstone inscriptions, this music is neither depressing nor morbid, but is a celebration of the human spirit and the love of life, family, and home. Martha's grace, sense of humor, and respect for the subject shines through in this moving, yet uplifting performance.
The evening will continue on to include some new original material, as well fan-favorite classics, showcasing Martha's ability as a songwriter and performer to go from serious to silly, from beautiful to edgy, from light to dark, and from here to there.
|
|
| Top |
 Eric Andersen is one of the greats of the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene. Over the decades he has followed his muse into a unique songwriting style that combines the poetic and the plainspoken, the throb of an open heart, and the perpetual motion of a soul on fire.
 His songs have been recorded by Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, The Grateful Dead, and many others. His latest album, Blue Rain, is all blues songs.
Robert Hazard started as a folk singer , wrote Cyndi Lauper's hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," and has now come full circle with a rootsy new album, "Seventh Lake." |
|
| Top |
 Canadian singer-songwriter Garnet Rogers is a man with a powerful physical presence, close to six and a half feet tall, with a voice to match. With his "smooth, dark baritone" (Washington Post) his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is mighty fine singer. Combine his passionate, deeply purposeful craft with over-the-top humor and a lightening quick wit and you have a truly captivating entertainer.
Special guests the Bowmans are beautiful, harmonizing indie-folk singing twin sisters based in New York City.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
| Saturday, October 27 • 8 PM |
|
Bill Vanaver |
| $15/12 |
|
|
 Bill Vanaver is a composer, folklorist, performer, and teacher who is currently in residence at Skidmore College. Along with his wife Livia he is the founder of the Vanaver Caravan Dance and Music Ensemble.
Bill is adept at a vast range of traditional folk styles from around the globe. Along with banjo, guitar and American folk classics, expect to hear unusual ethnic instruments such as the Bulgarian tambura, Greek lauto and much more. Bill always enjoys leading the audience in song, so get your pipes in order!
|
|
| Top |
 This Nashville-based husband-and-wife duo has created a body of twangy, bittersweet country music delivered with beautiful harmonies and simple acoustic guitars.
Stacey's unaffected southern charm and Mark's ace picking are irresistible and sweep audiences along on a ride that is part joy, part tears, part righteous hope.
Together they've won over audiences at major music festivals and in clubs coast to coast.
Talented young Vermont country-folk songwriter Josh Brooks will open the show.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, October 31 • 7 PM |
|
Comedy Open Mic |
| $5 |
|
|
|
|
| Top |
s
|
