Roaring Brook Concerts Begin Tonight

Submitted release 

Roaring Brook Concerts starts its 33rd concert season this week on Saturday, Sept. 29. The concerts are held at Roaring Brook Nature Center, 70 Gracey Road in Canton. Advance Tickets are available by calling 860-693-0263. Doors open 30 minutes before the start of each concert.  All shows are Saturday evening except Patrick Ball on Sunday as noted. More info available at our website: www.roaringbrookconcerts.org. Proceeds benefit the nature center.

The concerts are as follows: 

Saturday Sept. 29, 2012 — GARNET ROGERS

7:30PM  $18.00 Adv / $20.00 Door

The Boston Globe hails Garnet Rogers as "a brilliant songwriter...a charismatic performer and singer.  One of the major talents of our time."  It's been far too long since this Canadian songwriter-guitarist has graced our stage!  There is no better way to begin our 33rd concert season than to hear his smoothly resonant vocals and great guitar work on finely crafted songs from his newest recordings, Get A Witness and Shining Thing.  He always arrives with a raft of great guitars, humorous anecdotal observations from the road and a willingness to perform your requests.  With strength and sensitivity, he deftly mixes his own songs that celebrate our everyday victories and deal with what is real and lasting with masterful covers of Springsteen's Blood Brothers, Mark Knopfler's Romeo and Juliet, Greg Brown's Jesus and Elvis and Karen Savoca's Bittersweet.  Please join us at the Nature Center and call out your requests for Garnet's fine songs, "Night Drive," "The Outside Track," "For Herself," "These Golden Fields" and "Summer Lightning."

Oct. 6, 2012 — DONNA MARTIN

$15.00 Adv / $18.00 Door

Farmington Valley singer-songwriter guitarist Donna Martin returns to perform songs from her 2011 release Big Country plus favorites from her extensive recording catalog. Big Country was realized thanks to her great talent and a grant she received for a three month writing sabbatical in Taos, New Mexico.  The recording features stellar concert and studio musicians including Burt Teague and Danny Reilert on guitars, percussionist Jon Peckman and Jeff Lorello on upright bass.  Strong songs on the disc include "Lonely When You Go," "Asphalt Fly Boys," "Conscientious Man," and "Swing Low New Mexico."  Graduating from the cover band club scene 20 years ago, Donna really shines in intimate listening rooms or large outdoor festivals as a solo performer singing her own songs.  Long a favorite at Falcon Ridge, WIndsor and Hartland Folk Festivals, Bonnie Raitt was first in line to buy Donna's cds after their shared appearance with the Lillith Fair Tour.

October 20, 2012 — PAUL GEREMIA

$15 Adv / $20 Door

Red House recording artist Paul Geremia is a national treasure. He learned his craft first-hand from legends Son House, Skip James, Howlin' Wolf and Pink Anderson.  In 1966 he took to the road and has supported himself solely by performing and recording roots and blues based music.  Currently criss-crossing America in a car with 400,000 miles on it, he presents fine original songs and preserves vintage Delta, Piedmont and Texas fingerpicked guitar and slide styles.  A master 6 + 12 string guitarist, singer and rack-style harmonica player, he has appeared at England's Cambridge Folk Festival, The Newport Folk Fest, King Biscuit Blues Fest, Merlefest, Augusta Blues and Heritage Fest plus A Prairie Home Companion.  Enjoy selections from his 2011 release, Love My Stuff, his W.C. Handy nominated Self Portrait in Blues and Gamblin' Woman Blues and previous Hard Life Rockin' Chair.  His originals "One More Last Time" and "Slidell Blues" work well alongside classics "Devil Got My Woman" and "Silver City Bound."

SUNDAY Oct. 28, 2012 — PATRICK BALL

6:30PM  $20 Adv / $25 Door

Patrick Ball is a rare musical artist like Leo Kottke, Greg Brown or Cheryl Wheeler in that during live shows you can't decide if they should keep talking or play another song!  In fact, Patrick Ball who is known for playing the brass-wire-strung Celtic harp in breathtaking fashion, won an Indie Award with his cd Storyteller: Gwilan's Harp and Other Celtic Tales for Best Spoken Word recording.  Hear his marvelous voice telling the most touching, haunting, outrageous and hilarious stories ever told in the Celtic tradition.  The main event, though, is listening to his elegant tone and masterful arrangements as he plays Irish, Scottish, Manx and Breton tunes.  His renditions of of legendary Irish Harper Turlough O' Carolan's, "Si Bhig, Si Mohr," "O'Carolan's Welcome,"  "O'Carolan's Farewell to Music" plus the gem "She Moved Through the Fair" are truly poignant. 

Saturday Nov. 3, 2012 — SLOAN WAINWRIGHT also Stan Sullivan

7:30PM  $18.00 Adv / $20.00 Door

No singer commands the stage like New York's Sloan Wainwright. The strongest voice in the extended family that has included Wainwrights, Roches and McGarrigles returns with a dynamic, creative program of moving songs from her new 8th release, Upside Down & Under My Heart. She'll be accompanied by the superb guitar, mandolin, keyboard and vocals of Stephen Murphy. Standout songs tonight may include "Live Out the Best of Your Life," "Today," "Box of Rain" and "Too Nice for Too Long." Sloan's broad vocal range and theatrical flair serve her well on stage and at master songwriter and vocal workshops like Richard Thompson's Fret's and Refrains and WUMB Radio's SAMW Music Camps. In July we witnessed this duo's compelling performance at Bearsville Theater on a super bill with Richard Thompson, Teddy Thompson, Martin Simpson, Happy Traum and John Sebastian!   Leading off tonight's show, Hartford's Stan Sullivan will perform songs from his recordings The Right Road and Do You Like the Rain? An award winning songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist, he has opened shows for Greg Brown, Richard Thompson, Cheryl Wheeler and John Hammond among others. New songs include "The Bluewater Side," "Ivan Murphy" and "Pickin Winfield Again." "Stan Sullivan is a skillful blues based guitarist with a powerful voice."--Phil Ciganer, The Towne Crier

Saturday Nov. 17, 2012 — STEPHEN BENNETT

7:30PM  $18.00 Adv / $20.00 Door

Stephen Bennett is an impossibly great fingerstyle guitarist.  He'll play tunes from his latest cds High Street and Cool Tunes for Harp Guitar.  We're honored to have him back for his third RBNC concert.  For years we've watched him on the main and workshop stages at The Walnut Valley Festival, Winfield Kansas where he captured top awards in both flat picking and fingerstyle.  There in 2011, Stephen and guitar superstar Tommy Emmanuel shared stellar sets with high level jamming to the crowd's delight. Bennett is a one man acoustic band who plays the rarely heard harp guitar plus 6 + 12 string, National Steel Slide and baritone guitars.  His incredibly broad repertoire includes, folk, blues, rock, pop, jazz and classical pieces in totally developed arrangements that celebrate harmony and melody.  His great humor and his playing of original tunes "Sacagawea" and "Chocolate Mo" plus classics "Nature Boy" and "Someone to Watch Over Me" are remarkable.  Worth the price of admission alone are Stephen's versions of film themes for "The Lord of the Rings," "High Noon," "The Magnificent Seven" and To "Kill A Mockingbird."  Played on a Kathy Wingert built harp guitar, his reading of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" rivals the electric guitar classic by Jeff Beck!

Saturday Dec. 1, 2012 — DAVID MALLETT

7:30 PM  $20.00 Adv / $25.00 Door

David Mallett's "Garden Song" has been recorded by 150 artists.  Before playing it at a concert we attended in Maine this summer, he said, "I wouldn't be here tonight if it weren't for this song."  Someone called out, "yes you would!"  We agree.  In fact he has written many great songs found on his 14 recordings.  Great enough to be recorded by Emmylou Harris, Pete Seeger, Alison Krauss, Arlo Guthrie, Kathy Mattea, John Denver, Liam Clancy and many others.  Come and hear David play these songs, hear his warm friendly voice and hybrid rhythm and lead "Mallett picking" guitar style.  Acoustic and electric bassist Mike Burd kicks the night up a few notches with consummate backing and a few hot solos too.  A very special treat is hearing them perform a couple of selections from The Fable True--Stories from Thoreau's The Maine Woods with music and narration by David Mallett.  Expect two generous sets of songs that may include "Summer of My Dreams," "Phil Brown," "This Town," "Here We Go," "Parallel Lives" and "Alright Now."  Listen for Mallett's haunting song "Ten Men."  "If Johnny Cash were alive he'd record 'Ten Men' in a second."--Tom Harvey

Saturday Jan. 19, 2013 — BILL STAINES

7:30 PM  $15.00 Adv / $20.00 Door

You might expect America's foremost acoustic troubadour and road warrior to be a tough, gruff character but he is not!  Though Bill Staines has played all 50 states driving 70,000 miles a year and flying the rest, he's the most friendly guy to ever pull a guitar out of a case and perform for a folk music audience.  The songs he writes reflect that personality. They are about strong memories, colorful characters and the adventure of tracking the North American landscape. These songs have earned him repeat appearances on A Prairie Home Companion and Mountain Stage.  Over his 45 year career, Bill has fine tuned his art of writing unforgettable, singable choruses.  Relax, enjoy and join in with Bill's rich baritone voice and satin- smooth guitar work on choruses to his anthems, "River," "Roseville Fair," "Walker Behind the Wheel," and "A Place In the Choir."

Saturday Jan. 26, 2013 — PAUL RISHELL & ANNIE RAINES

7:30 PM  $20.00 Adv / $22.00 Door

Paul Rishell & Annie Raines appeal to a wide audience due to their variety of material, instrumental virtuosity and their strong graceful vocals.  Playing together for 20 years, they have toured internationally, appeared on Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.  Their music is featured on radio shows with Americana, folk and blues formats. Their original songs and interpretations of prewar country blues and postwar Texas and Chicago blues are performed with authority!  Annie Raines is an acclaimed harmonica player who just released an instructional dvd titled Blues Harmonica Blueprint.  Harmonica legend James Cotton calls her "James Cotton Jr."  while Pinetop Perkins said "she plays so good it hurts."  Paul Rishell has released a new cd called Talking Guitar and is a teaching artist at Berklee College of Music.  He is a superb acoustic, National Steel Slide and electric guitarist who has played with Son House, Howlin' Wolf and Brownie McGee & Sonny Terry among others!  Enjoy these W.C. Handy Award winners as they play "Memphis Town," "Ragtime Millionaire,"  "Got To Fly," "Good Women Have Bad Days" from their cds Goin' Home and Movin' To The Country.