Events

Born in Miami, during World War II, Chris Smither grew up in New Orleans where he first started playing music as a child. The son of a Tulane University professor, he was taught the rudiments of instrumentation by his uncle on his mother’s ukulele. “Uncle Howard,” Smither says, “showed me that if you knew three chords, you could play a lot of the songs you heard on the radio. And if you knew four chords, you could pretty much rule the world.” With that bit of knowledge under his belt, he was hooked. “I’d loved acoustic music – specifically the blues – ever since I first heard Lightnin’ Hopkins’ Blues In My Bottle album. I couldn’t believe the sound Hopkins got. At first I thought it was two guys playing guitar. My style, to a degree, came out of trying to imitate that sound I heard.”

Gavin Marengi, a singer-songwriter hailing from Salisbury, Massachusetts, is a true hometown enthusiast. His deep connection to his small town roots and his formative experiences growing up shape the heartfelt narratives woven into his songs.

The Commonheart’s sophomore album, ‘Pressure’ (Jullian Records), is both rugged and refined. The 10-song album showcases raw-nerve soul musicianship pristinely recorded. It’s an album by a band on a mission. “We are willing to take risks and to go at any lengths for this band,” Clinton says affirmatively. “We are ready to spread positivity and make a stretch of this thing.”

From New Jersey, John Gorka is a world-renowned singer-songwriter who got his start at a neighborhood coffeehouse in eastern Pennsylvania. His rich multifaceted songs full of depth, beauty and emotion gained attention from critics and audiences across the country, as well as in Europe . In addition to his 11 critically acclaimed albums, many well known artists have recorded and/or performed John Gorka songs, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black and Maura O’Connell.