Concerts at the Crossing

7:30 p.m.

Jenny Owen Youngs

Tickets: $20; Kids 14 and under, $5. Order tickets online. Note that there is $1.50 surcharge for each online ticket order. ADVANCE TICKET SALES END AT 3 P.M. DAY OF SHOW. ALL ADVANCE TICKET ORDERS ARE PICKED UP AT THE DOOR THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW. ADVANCE TICKETS ARE NOT MAILED. Tickets will be available at the door the night of the show. Note that we only accept checks and cash at the door. Doors open at 6:45.

Jenny Owen Youngs grew up in the forests of northern New Jersey and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. After self-releasing her first album Batten the Hatches in 2005, Jenny went on to release two albums and three EPs through the Canadian indie label Nettwerk Records. She has toured extensively through the US, UK, and mainland Europe, both as headliner and support to artists such as Regina Spektor, Motion City Soundtrack, Aimee Mann, Kevin Devine, and Amanda Palmer. Her songs have been heard on Weeds, Nurse Jackie, Privileged, Life Unexpected, Switched at Birth, and in Victoria’s Secret stores the world over. We’re thrilled to kick off our 18th season with this popular indie singer-songwriter.

“Funny, smart and quirky. A truly unconventional singer-songwriter.”

Rita Houston for NPR

Lily Mae

Think Joni Mitchell meets Laura Marling and you’ve got a good idea as to what Lily Mae, a 16-year-old contemporary folk singer-songwriter from Buckingham, PA sounds like. Lily has been performing since she was four and released her debut EP, Early Days, in October of 2012. Since then her music has been garnering airplay on WXPN as well as Folk Radio in the UK. Meanwhile, she’s been attracting the attention of other performers and music industry movers and shakers such as Jenny Owen Youngs and Bess Rogers, and composer and producer Dan Romer (Ingrid Michaelson, Jukebox the Ghost), all of whom have praised and posted Lily’s work.

“A sculptured voice from the soul of a tender heart. Lily Mae’s performance is a rare, nakedly powerful human expression that captivates.”

John Cole, WDVR FM

7:30 p.m.

The Stray Birds

Tickets: $20; Kids 14 and under, $5. Order tickets online. Note that there is $1.50 surcharge for each online ticket order. ADVANCE TICKET SALES END AT 3 P.M. DAY OF SHOW. ALL ADVANCE TICKET ORDERS ARE PICKED UP AT THE DOOR THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW. ADVANCE TICKETS ARE NOT MAILED. Tickets will be available at the door the night of the show. Note that we only accept checks and cash at the door. Doors open at 6:45.This is a first. We booked The Stray Birds to return to Concerts at the Crossing as a headliner even before they made their first appearance here as an opening act in December 2012. Who knew back in December 2011 when we first booked them for that December 2012 date that they would become one of the fastest rising string bands on the acoustic music circuit? And that their self-titled debut album released in July 2012 would garner the airplay it has on Folk Radio, including being named by NPR as one of “The Top 10 Folk & Americana Albums of 2012”.
As the folks at NPR write, “Few bands seeking to make a lasting impression on a nationwide audience are often inclined to lay it all on the line from the get-go. Unleash the full throttle of your instrumental gifts through intense solos and voice-stretching vocal performances, and perhaps folks will have no option but to listen. There’s more grace and artfulness, though, in exercising restraint, as The Stray Birds do beautifully on their self-titled debut. Clearly these are players with chops, songwriters with a fierce command of their craft. But they also seem to have a grip on when to lend a hand, and when to let the songs fly on their own. This record was certainly one of the finest debuts of the year from a band to watch.”
Indeed, when The Stray Birds take the stage, the spotlight falls on three voices raised in harmony above the raw resonance of wood and strings. It is a sound drawn from the richness of American folk music traditions, spun with a stirring subtlety and grace. From bustling street corners to silent halls, their performances speak to an uncompromising reverence for songs. Don’t miss this one!

Ana Egge

Saskatchewan-born, Brooklyn-based folk troubadour Ana Egge isn’t your run-of-the-mill alternative-country singer. Using unique production and rock-based chord progressions, Egge has made a name for herself as a Gillian Welch figure with a rocker attitude, which once prompted Lucinda Williams to call her “the Nina Simone of folk.”
Her latest release, Bad Blood was produced by Steve Earle and recorded at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY. Describing Ana’s music, Earle says, “Ana Egge’s songs are low and lonesome, big square-stare noir ballads which she plays on a guitar she built with her own two hands and sings like she’s telling us her deepest, darkest secrets.”

Ana has toured and shared the stage with Lucinda Williams, Ralph Stanley, John Prine, Ron Sexsmith, Shawn Colvin, Joan Armatrading, Iris Dement, Richard Thompson, George Jones, and many more.

7:30 p.m.

John Gorka

Tickets: $25; Children 14 and under $5. Order tickets online. Note that there is $1.50 surcharge for each online ticket order. ADVANCE TICKET SALES END AT 3 P.M. DAY OF SHOW. ALL ADVANCE TICKET ORDERS ARE PICKED UP AT THE DOOR THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW. ADVANCE TICKETS ARE NOT MAILED. Tickets will be available at the door the night of the show. Note that we only accept checks and cash at the door. Doors open at 6:45.

We’re excited to welcome back John Gorka, an honored icon of the folk music tradition. If you’ve ever attended one of his concerts, you’ll know that he plays energetic acoustic music that is not a trend, not a fad, but an expression of everyday life. John’s rich baritone voice and unique song craft weave a magical spell that can only be described as magic in our book.

Honor Finnegan

Honor Finnegan is the Susan Boyle of quirky indie folk, only hotter. We love that description of her, which we stole from her Website, but what the heck, it says it all. Her songs are humorous then heartbreaking with melodies that soar. Based in New York City, she has been making a splash in the northeastern regional folk scene with her original songs and ukulele playing. Combining elements of musical theatre, comedy, traditional folk, and poetry, Honor is cooler than the other side of the pillow. We stole that from her Website too, but no sense reinventing the wheel when it works perfectly fine.