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Blackbird Cafe - staff---May Edition - Volume 2 - Issue 11

MEREDITH LUCE

Ottawa’s Meredith Luce returns to the Blackbird Café in Canton on May 10th at 8 pm. Advance tickets are available at the Blackbird.

Meredith was first introduced to area audiences through NCPR’s UpNorth Music project which included an invitation to play their sold out 40th anniversary concert at the Gulick Theatre in Canton in January. She followed by a show at the Blackbird at the end of February which saw tables being removed and chairs being set up to make room for all the people who came to hear her. This time they are setting up a music space upstairs to make more room for the audience.

Meredith’s contemporary folk, alt-country and pop music had drawn wide national air play in Canada on CBC. With the NCPR project, Meredith is building a base of fans in the North Country. A dual Canadian and US citizen, Meredith draws musical inspiration from both her Canadian upbringing and her mother’s musical roots in the West Virginia mountains. Since her uncle’s move to the Adirondacks several years ago, Meredith has spent a lot more time getting to know the North Country. She laughs and notes, “My uncle keeps telling me that people stop him on the street to ask if he is related to me. What fun!”

NCPR’s Production Manager Joel Hurd recorded Meredith for the UpNorth project and recently commented on her selection for the concert and their compilation album, Music Heard UpNorth. “The thing I really like about Meredith Luce is that she sounds like no one else. Her song writing and guitar work reflect a maturity way beyond her years. Listening back to the recording session, there is a sort of awkward, stunned silence after the first song because we were so taken aback at how good she sounded. We look forward to her becoming a big deal in the music industry so we can shamelessly drop her name and tell people that we knew Meredith way back in 2007.”

At the Blackbird show, Meredith will feature songs from her acclaimed album, October, as well as some new songs that will be featured on her next album which she is now recording.

Meredith toured New England in the fall and has an invitation to return to Boston in July for a songwriter exchange between Ottawa and Boston folk musicians. In the Ottawa area, she has played at the Ottawa Folk Festival, the Stewart Park Festival and the Ottawa Bluesfest. She returns to Westfest this June with her band the Man Dates. North Country audiences will have heard Meredith’s music twice in March on the Vinyl Café which airs on NCPR.

Links to Meredith and her music can be found on her website: www.meredithluce.com---

Open Stage At The BlackBird Cafe

The BlackBird Cafe, 107 Main Street in Canton, will be holding its monthly First Friday Open Stage on Friday May 2nd from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. All artists and musicians are invited and welcome to perform and share their songs, poems and pieces. This will be the last Open Stage of the spring. We will take the summer off and resume in the fall. For more information contact the BlackBird Cafe (315) 386-8104 or Open Stage host Reverend Mike (315) 386-4364. . --

To Contact Him Please E-mail Us Here..

Blackbird Cafe - staff---April Edition - Volume 2 - Issue 10

It was SRO again at the March Open Stage at Canton’s Blackbird Cafe. The place was humming as over 60 people gathered for an energetic evening filled to over flowing with music of every genre - played heart-and-soul by a host of talented north country musicians. As the kitchen turned out tasty food for the feast, the evening began with an equally delicious set turned in by SLU first year student Phil Cohen. Phil’s astute song writing and adept guitar work has garnered quite a following on campus and now down in town, with many in attendance that evening singing right along to their favorite PC originals. Phil’s laid back edge was the perfect contrast to the next performer, Susan Griskonis who boldly sang a pair of Gillian Welch tunes a capella. Susan’s melodic voice struck a resonant cord with the crowd as they listened in hushed silence until song’s end, and then flooded the room with boisterous accolade. The evening’s snow storm brought even the saltiest of north country road dogs to the Open Stage that night as Tas Cru, aka Rick Bates of Conrad Story Blues Band stopped in with his National resolectric guitar to delight the scene with a few gritty, old-school blues tunes. Rick has recently been touring nationally in support of his solo CD “gravi-Tas”, and his chops were certainly in evidence that night. Following his set, Rick sat in on lead for a tune and then turned the stage over to Potsdam journeyman blues player Sarmiento Salvador who continued to feed the blues vibe to the appreciative crowd. Next on stage was the High Flats String Band featuring Geoff Hayton (guitar & vocals), Jody Wallace (banjo, banjo-uke & lead vocals), Phen Canner (fiddle & vocals) and Claude Aldous (upright bass). HFSB’s down home, old-time Appalachian string music was just what everyone was looking for, and they soon had folks up and dancing. HFSB is the ideal vehicle for Canner’s excellent fiddle work, accenting the lilts and lines of Wallace’s vocals, both sitting atop Aldous’ bouncing bass and held together by Hayton’s always talented guitar playing. As the evening began to wind down the atmosphere was ripe for the insightful and humorous originals of local singer/songwriter Larry McCory, whose loose style can’t help but warmly welcome the listener into his unique and quirky world. Finally, the line-up concluded with Canton’s Bob Bowen doing a few 60’s folk music favorites, without which such a night would not be complete. As an after hours last call, a hearty band of die-hards joined Open Stage host Reverend Mike in singing John Prine’s “Angels From Montgomery.” Open Stage at the Blackbird Cafe is held the first Friday of each month from 8 to 10 p.m. All artists and musicians are invited and welcome to perform and share their songs, poems and pieces. Hone your craft, spotlight your talent, create community and get into the scene. For more info contact the BBC at 386-8104 or Reverend Mike at 386-4364. ---

To Contact Him Please E-mail Us Here..