The Firehouse Center for the Arts presents…

Darlin’ Corey with Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem

$25 / All Tickets

Darlin’ Corey

Darlin’ Corey features the singing and playing of three accomplished musicians of the thriving music scene of Portland, ME. Award winning fiddler and singer Erica Brown on fiddle, guitar, vocals, notable songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Shipman on guitar, vocals, mandolin, bouzouki, banjo and Portland’s favorite bass player Kris Day, who has also toured with legends like Link Wray, Dale Hawkins, Ronnie Dawson and Joe Clay.

Their music is a diverse and unique blend of folk with influences from bluegrass and old time music. Drawing on these threads of North American folk music, their elegant harmonies are the beating heart of their sound, in both their original music and the traditional old time, bluegrass and New England influenced music they regularly showcase. In Darlin’ Corey’s singing and playing, you can feel the many years of dedication to these celebrated musical traditions. 

Together they create an engaging performance of thoughtful originals, traditional songs and tunes, and songs that influenced them along the way. Erica Brown’s fiddle-playing is at turns virtuosic and completely unpretentious. Matt Shipman is an ideal counterpart as his versatility on a dizzying array of stringed instruments (guitar, Irish bouzouki, 5-string banjo, mandolin) blend seamlessly, never timid or overpowering. Kris Day holds it all together with his solid bass playing.

Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem

Harmony, rhythm, indelible songs – these are the hallmarks of Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, the New England based folk quartet now in its 20th year. From the Newport Folk Festival to California World Music Festival and beyond, this band’s steadfast brew of wit, camaraderie, and musicality leaves audiences everywhere humming and hopeful, spirits renewed. Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem are Rani Arbo (fiddle, guitar), Andrew Kinsey (bass, banjo, ukulele), Anand Nayak (electric and acoustic guitars) and Scott Kessel (percussion). At the helm, Arbo is “blessed with an unmistakable voice, both light and sultry, with a hint of tremolo and smoke” (Acoustic Guitar). With Kinsey and Nayak’s vibrant baritones and Kessel’s resonant bass, the band’s signature lockstep harmonies can shake the rafters or hush the room. Arbo’s fiddle is sweet and sinewy, while Nayak’s guitar stretches across genre lines. Kinsey’s old-time bass anchors the deep groove of Kessel’s homemade percussion kit — a truly funky collection of cardboard boxes, tin cans, caulk tubes, packing-tape tambourines, bottle-cap rattles, Mongolian jaw harps, and a vinyl suitcase.