Rob Carlson and Benefit Street
From the classic “Peaceable Kingdom”, through his syndicated parodies and “Ramblin’ Bob” songs to his award winning work with “Modern Man”- Rob Carlson has delivered a remarkable body of work as a singer, writer, comedian and producer.
Kate Callahan State Troubadour
http://www.kate-callahan.com
https://www.facebook.com/KateCalSings
Nominated for a 2014 New England Music Award, Kate Callahan, Connecticut’s “Best Singer-Songwriter 2013” has three albums including her recent release Two Doors, which was featured on Connecticut’s NPR show Where We Live.
Kate appears with her band Echo Joy, giving concerts of compelling original music plus songs by the The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and the Great American Songbook. Connecticut’s NPR host Colin McEnroe says of a recent performance, “There was a kind of giant, multi-pronged Emersonian celestial tuning fork onstage. It was a pretty thing to see, and it put light in one’s heart. And oh! They did a remarkable arrangement of “Hallelujah.” The six-member band delivers intricate vocal harmonies blended with acoustic guitar, violin, piano, rhythm, and steel pan drum. Members include Cynthia Wolcott, Michelle Begley, Atticus Kelly, Kaia Pazdersky, and Alli Fox.
Kate’s credits include appearances at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artists Showcase, the New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas, and the CT Folk Festival. She has opened shows for folk legends Judy Collins and Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul, and Mary), troubadours Aztec Two-Step, John Gorka, Mustard’s Retreat, and the late Bill Morrissey. She has also shared stages with folk-rock artists Rachael Sage and Regina Spektor. Stookey calls Callahan “real” and says her lyrics are “Zen-like.”
Callahan’s music feels soulful and she’s unapologetically optimistic in concert. McEnroe praised a recent performance, saying, “Kate Callahan is the only performer I’ve ever seen who occasionally seems to be channeling something vaster and far more ancient than herself, something more easily understood by Emerson than by any modern person.”
Callahan’s album Two Doors explores themes of spirituality, relationship, reincarnation, and creativity. Hartford Courant music critic Steve Metcalf compares her early work to “what the young Leonard Cohen might have sounded like had he been a woman and a little more harmonically adventuresome.”
Two Doors was produced by Jim Chapdelaine, a Grammy nominated and Emmy award-winning producer. The album features drummer Lorne Entress (Lori McKenna, Catie Curtis, Mark Erelli), Jon Peckman (The Feathermerchants), Paul Kochanski (Lori McKenna, The Shinolas), and André Balazs (Bi-Polar Jukebox).
Since the turn of the millennium, Kate has won the Hartford Advocate’s “Best Solo Performer” award three times. She was also awarded the Hartford Courant’s “Woman of Character Award” for her involvement in schools and on stages and met Jane Fonda when she received that award. The Greater Hartford Arts Council chose Kate as the prestigious United Arts Campaign’s Featured Music Artist of 2014. She has appeared on WNPR ‘s The Colin McEnroe Show to talk about the rise of folk music, Connecticut’s Hartfolk Festival, and the her personal experience with the healing power of music. She has also appeared on WNPR’s Where We Live discussing the music of Joni Mitchell, the Mitchell inspired book Gathered Light, and also in promotion of her album Two Doors.
$10
