"Ladies Sing the Blues"Sponsored and Hosted by the
Saratoga Acoustic Blues Society
Saturday, Feb. 6 • 8 PM
$20—Benefit for Caffè Lena
www.caffelena.org
The Capital District's best women singers belt the blues to benefit the region's finest acoustic blues venue—Caffè Lena! Back in the 1920s blueswomen from the Delta were among the first black singers recorded, they were the first blues singers recorded, and they were instrumental in spreading the 12-bar blues throughout the country.
Tonight Caffè Lena and the Saratoga Acoustic Blues Society honor the enduring gifts of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Sippie Wallace, as well as the original modern blues of the featured singers. Accompanied by a crew of excellent sidemen too numerous to list here, we bring you the dynamite vocals of Sarah Pedinotti, Becky Walton, the Dwyer sisters, Gail Sparlin, Annie Rosen, MotherJudge, Mikki Bakken, and Thomasina Winslow.
www.mikkibakken.com
Mikki Bakken has an extensive background in the Blues, starting with her tenure with Smith&Bakken and The David Bromberg Band. A local favorite with national experience, Mikki has shared the stage with Joan Osborne, Taj Mahal, Ani DiFranco, Asleep at The Wheel and many others.
Her distinctive percussive flat picking guitar style is the perfect compliment to her passionate voice.
Born and raised in Saratoga Springs, The Dwyer Sisters have been singing and playing, professionally in the area for more than a decade.
Sharon and Molly Dwyer have been hooked up with Rick Bolton and Arlin Greene while sister Katy Dwyer Farone is well known in and out of the area, singing with her partner, Danny Garcia.
All three sisters will be together for this special benefit for Caffe Lena, a rare occurance, yet promising to be filled with harmony…harmony that was instilled in them as children.
www.myspace.com/motherjudge
MotherJudge hails from Upstate New York. Described as “Americana Soul,” her sound unites the best of blues, gospel, jazz and country. Called “KD Lang with a black eye” by Metroland magazine, as a performer she draws from a deep well of originals songs by her favorite composers. Mainly self-taught, she is a “natural-born” musician.
For the “Ladies Sing the Blues” performance, she pays homage to Memphis Minnie & Sister Rosetta Tharpe, two women who, like her, owe a debt to the gospel music tradition.
She is joined by bluesman Mark Tolstrup and is proud to have contributed vocals to his fine CD release with Dale Haskell “Street Corner Holla.”
www.railbirdmusic.com
Sarah Pedinotti is the lead singer and songwriter of the band Railbird. Her writing has been described as eclectic, experimental and psychedelic, but also deeply informed by American roots music. She names Billie Holiday, Scott Walker and Micachu as influences.
Railbird's debut disc was listed as #8 in Billboard's editors' picks for 2008, hailed as “a great indie band set to break out.”
www.aberman.org/jonny/hedonist
Annie Rosen is the lead singer in “Annie & the Hedonists,” a regional band that performs a wide array of acoustic music from blues, swing, and jazz standards to bluegrass and ballads.
Her emotive vocals include standards from blues greats such as Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Sippie Wallace, Ma Rainey, and Billie Holiday.
The Times Union in its “Faves of 2008” expounded about Annie’s versatile, vintage-tinged voice and Metroland in its “Best Acoustic Band” about her world class vocals.
www.gailsparlin.com
Gail grew up on the far side of the Mississippi Delta, in Northern Minnesota, and writes folk and blues influenced pop songs she calls “mostly true stories.” Gail is an area music educator and attributes her songwriting style to her quirky upper mid-western way of viewing the world.
www.myspace.com/beckymichaud
Female vocalist for Big Medicine for the past 10 years, Becky Walton is a mainstay of the Saratoga music scene.
She does it all well—rock, folk, country—but has a special affinity for the bluesy vocals of such classic vocalists as Etta James. And she is looking forward to performing the blues at Caffe Lena.
www.thomasinawinslow.com
Thomasina Winslow grew singing and playing music with her folk singing family the Winslows. As a solo artist in her own right she has played in Europe, in countless NY schools, and in studios and stages up and down the east coast.
She has performed in such world renown venues as the legendary Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, New York, and the Good Coffeehouse in Brooklyn New York with the legendary Country Blues artist Nick Katzman.
Her heart is in Country Blues and her Album Essential Tunes is a tribute to her heritage and is a lively palate of acoustic blues favorites as well as her own passionate originals.
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