w/special guest Liz Longley
Note that this show is 14 and older only because of occasional adult language.
Tickets: $25
8 p.m.
Francis Dunnery has had a good life and that’s not just because that’s the name of one of his songs, a song that’s resonated with hundreds of thousands of listeners thanks to its inclusion on an episode of Scrubs. Born and raised in the rural but working class areas of Cumbria, England home to the incongruous twins of coal mining and Wordsworth, Francis took up the drums at age 11. Swiftly embracing the more melodic guitar, bass and keyboards he developed his own inimitable style. The group It Bites were his passport to London and a record company deal with Virgin Records. After leaving Virgin, Francis took stock of his life and used his superb guitar skills playing back-up for many well-known artists. It was while playing guitar for Robert Plant that he was spotted by Plant’s manager Bill Curbishley who recognized his songwriting talents. After the critically acclaimed acoustic live album One Night In Sauchiehall Street was released in the UK (1997), another studio set Lets Go Do What Happens was released in America. In addition Francis managed to use his unique guitar talents to good effect on such diverse releases as Lauren Hill’s Miseducation of Lauren Hill and the multi-platinum rebirth of Santana with Supernatural. In 1998, unable to sustain his enthusiasm for the music industry, Francis retired to the mountains of Vermont with his girlfriend, raised a child and developed his interest in Jungian Psychology and horse training. Lured back to the UK in the year 2000 he was surprised to find that his gigs sold out. The songs that had been swirling round his head for the last four years finally found substance with Oswestry. ‘Man on his Aquarian Nation label. Since then he’s continued to record and perform sold-out shows in the U.S. and UK while at the same time returning to school to pursue a Masters Degree in Psychology. In addition to house concert tours and sold-out performances at venues like Philadelphia’s Tin Angel, it’s no wonder that his fans keep coming back again and again.
“With some performers, you think that was great and maybe someday I’ll go to another of their shows. With Francis, you wonder where he’s playing the next night, and is it too late to get tickets.” - A Fan
Click here to visit Francis’s Website.
Liz Longley is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2009 Rocky Mountain Folk Festival’s Songwriters Showcase. She was also honored as a co-winner of the 2009 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, a finalist at Texas’s 2009 Kerrville Folk Fest and an Emerging Artist in New York’s 2009 Falcon Ridge Folk Fest. The Telegraph of New Hampshire says “Longley’s songs swell with honesty and genuine emotion that most of us are unable to admit to but recognize all the same.” Even music icon John Mayer, who surprised Liz and fellow Berklee music students when he broke into an impromptu rendition of Liz’s song ‘Queen’, has described her music as “Gorgeous…just gorgeous!”
“A world class singer… One of the best I’ve ever heard.” - - Livingston Taylor
The Boss and The Bard: A 35th Anniversary Tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run and Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks featuring The Kennedys, Anthony DaCosta, Seth Glier, and BettySoo — May 15, 2010
Show starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $23
Tonight we celebrate two of the greatest albums in the rock and roll canon. Our four performers will take the stage individually and collectively throughout the evening putting their own unique acoustic spin on tracks from these two classic albums. So sit back or stand up and rock out if the moment grabs you to songs like “Thunder Road,” “Tenth Ave. Freezeout,” “Jungleland,” “Backstreets,” and of course the title track from Born to Run along with songs like “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Shelter from the Storm,” “Idiot Wind,” and “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go,” from Blood on the Tracks.
“I first heard of Anthony da Costa at a regional folk conference and I could not believe it. I went to see him five more times just to make sure he was as good as I first thought he was. He is. Think Bob Dylan and John Lennon. He’s the kind of fresh blood we need.” -Louis Meyers, Executive Director, Folk Alliance
“Glier, for one so young, has got a very good handle on the human condition. He chooses interesting metaphors and doesn’t rely on the stock words and phrases many writers use to make their lyrics rhyme or fit the meter of the song….Glier, while as yet unknown, is a rising star.” – Livingston Taylor
