If walls could talk, the walls of the 1794 meetinghouse in New Salem would echo the sounds of beating drums, thundering bass lines, frenzied violins, deep moaning cellos, twangy guitars and sweet soaring voices (and on and on). Yes, the walls of the 1794 Meetinghouse would be filled with music.
In 1987, a group of concerned citizens transformed an old church located in the center of town into a performing arts center and since that time, the Meetinghouse has been home for an annual summer concert series. The meetinghouse is the perfect setting for experiencing music in the warm weather months, as it is an intimate room with excellent sound located in a beautiful little Franklin County town.
The 2017 summer concert series will launch this weekend with a show by singer-songwriter Patty Larkin on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The series, which will run through Aug. 12, will present 19 shows featuring a mix of well-known local musicians, like bluesman Wildcat O’Halloran and the alt-country rockers The Lonesome Brothers. There will also be musicians from outside the area, including folk musician David Mallett and, from Nashville, Tenn., the Twangtown Paramours. The series will feature all types of music: folk, blues, swing, country, jazz, Celtic, Afro-beat, rock and more.
Larkin, who will have the honor of kicking off the 2017 season, has performed at the 1794 Meetinghouse in the past, and has been a frequent performer in our area throughout her lengthy career. She is a gifted singer-songwriter who is known for her poetic lyrics and virtuosic guitar playing. She’s won widespread acclaim for her talents as a guitarist, and has championed other female players, even assembling a 2004 disc called, “La Guitaria: Gender Bending in Strings,” that highlighted the work of women guitarists.
Larkin has not released an album in some time — her most recent recording was “Still Green” from 2013, which was released by Signature Sounds of Northampton. This album was an exploration of working through grief. Larkin was motivated to write “Still Green” after going through a time in which she lost both parents and witnessed her sister suffer a stroke after a surgery.
These events inspired moving lines like, “The man in the hallway is cleaning up grief/While travelers chase after time like a thief/With oversized bags, they wait for relief in the dawn/But The Best of Intentions all get up and leave before long.”
And, while this is an album that obviously addresses pain, it also is one of hope and healing.
Larkin is a seasoned professional who was called a “drop dead brilliant performer” by Performing Songwriter magazine. She continually delights her audience with engaging stories, songs and her stellar guitar work. It comes as no surprise that the Meetinghouse has welcomed her back to help celebrate the start of what promises to be an excellent season.
On Sunday, the 1794 meetinghouse will host an early show of classical choral music provided by Quabbin Valley Pro Music, with Dr. Charles Heffernan conducting. This is a 4 p.m. show.
There will be a special “Water Project” reunion held at the meetinghouse on Friday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. Last fall more than 300 audience members attended a performance of TheatreTruck’s original production, “The Water Project,” at the Swift River Valley Society’s museum in New Salem. This was an interactive theater piece with live music that was about lives displaced by the formation of the Quabbin Reservoir. For this show, some of the performers from “The Water Project,” including Carrie Ferguson, Mamma’s Marmalade and the play’s author, Emma June Ayres, are reuniting for an evening of music that will raise funds for the production company TheatreTruck and the upcoming original production, “The Mill Project,” to be performed in Leeds June 22 through 25.
The artists of TheatreTruck are inviting everyone to join them for a “bring your own picnic” to be held on the New Salem Town Common at 6 p.m. on the evening of this show.
Tickets for all the shows are available at:
www.1794meetinghouse.org.
Children 12 and under are admitted for free. There is an opening night reception before the Larkin show that will begin at 6:45 p.m. Season passes that allow admission to all shows are also available for purchase on the website.
Pints in the Park —
Good Music, Good Brews
The People’s Pint will take over the Energy Park in Greenfield on Saturday when it hosts the first Pints in the Park. This event, which will run from noon to 6 p.m., is a celebration of all the great local brews in our area, and the organizers of the event have also assembled an excellent lineup of local bands that will provide the soundtrack for the day.
Performing at Pints in the Park will be Willy and the Poor Boys, Carinae and Hammydown.
Willy and the Poor Boys is a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band that features Sandy Bailey on lead vocals. In addition to CCR tunes, the band mixes it up with some other covers and a few original tunes.
Hadley rock band Carinae continue to see its fan base grow as listeners can’t seem to get enough of the band’s intense psychedelic sounds.
Hammydown, led by Abbie Morin of Northampton, is another band whose popularity is on the rise. It plays a brand of indie-garage rock that is a bit ragged, yet appealing. The band’s song, “People You May Know,” off its soon to be released EP “Pizzaface,” has more than 50,000 plays on Spotify. (We will have a full interview with Morin later this month.)
You can tell Pint in the Parks is going to be a great mix of good music and good brews, so don’t miss out.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at the People’s Pint, 24 Federal St. in Greenfield, online at: www.thepeoplespint.com, or they can be purchased at the event. There will be no parking at the Energy Park or at the Miles St. lot during this event. The rain date is Sunday. All ages are welcome.
Clara Baker and Caroline Cotter play Mocha Maya’s
Clara Baker and Caroline Cotter are two Portland singer-songwriters who are doing some touring together. There is nothing unusual about that except that they aren’t from the same Portland — Baker is from Portland, Ore., while Cotter is from Maine. The two met at a songwriting workshop in New Hampshire last year, so they decided to do some shows together, including one at Mocha Maya’s in Shelburne Falls Friday at 8 p.m.
“Caroline and I met there last summer and have since run into each other at various points this year around the country while on tour,” wrote Baker — this is her first tour in the Northeast. “As a solo singer-songwriter, it is really fun to meet other musicians to share shows and tour with.”
Baker is a rootsy folk singer who released her first album “Temporary Things” in 2015. Cotter is a world traveler who has used her journeys as inspiration for her songwriting.
Come out and show some support from some new artists visiting the area. There is no cover charge, but tips are always welcomed.
Sheryl Hunter is a music writer who lives in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national magazines. You can contact her at soundslocal@yahoo.com