MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION REVUE JOINS GLOBALFEST AT WEBSTER HALL JANUARY 17

REVUE INCLUDES JAMES BROWN/PERCY SLEDGE GUITAR VIRTUOSO ROBERT LEE COLEMAN; NEWEST BIG LEGAL MESS RECORDS SIGNEE ROBERT FINLEY; AND DEEP BLUES ARTIST ALABAMA SLIM

The Music Maker Relief Foundation – the non-profit organization which assists southern, traditional musicians who live in poverty, many of them elderly – is bringing a revue to Globalfest January 17 at Webster Hall. Last year, Jon Pareles wrote in The New York Times that the festival was “full of fusions both geographical and temporal: local and far-flung, old and new.” He continued, “What fortified nearly every performance was the sense that the music still comes from some place like home.” MMRF was the subject last year of 20th anniversary profiles on NPR Weekend Edition and PBS News Hour. Music Maker Relief Foundation mission video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BznOarcpGaM

The Music Maker Relief Foundation Revue will consist of:

+ Robert Lee Coleman of Macon, Georgia played guitar for Percy Sledge from 1964 to 1969. In 1970, James Brown hired him for his new band, “the JBs.” Robert’s guitar is featured on Brown’s album “Hot Pants”, including the songs “Revolution of the Mind,” recorded live at the Apollo Theater & “Make It Funky” from the “Soul Classics” LP. He was most recently the subject of features in Gibson.com and Premier Guitar Magazine. Paul Reed Smith personally gave him a custom guitar. Hear music from his Music Maker Relief Foundation album ‘One More Mile’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpI2B8nrrqk

+ Robert Finley is the most recent addition to Big Legal Mess Records (Fat Possum) and his live performance energy can put anyone into a trance. Hailing from Bernice, LA, Finley enlisted in the US Army and served as an Army Band Director when he was younger. After his service, he worked as a carpenter and until recently his work provided enough income for him to get by. Unfortunately, his deteriorating eyesight has led to the loss of his carpentry career. Finley's music is as strong as ever though, and when Music Maker head saw him performing on the street at the King Biscuit Festival in Helena, AR, he signed him on the spot. He is making his NYC debut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOGMbOre8YE

+ Alabama Slim says, “I grew up listening to the old blues since I was a child. I spent summers with my grandparents who had a farm. Them old folks would get to moanin’ while they worked, and I just started moanin’ with them. That’s where I learned to sing.”  Slim grew up playing in juke joints in Alabama and moved to New Orleans in the ‘60s. Since joining MM, his music has been felt at performances in the States and abroad. Music Maker assisted him in relocating back to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He has released two albums on Music Maker and performed at Lincoln Center. Hear music: http://www.musicmaker.org/artists/alabama-slim/

The bandleader includes “Lil’ Joe” Burton, a trombone player who spent sixteen years with BB King before becoming Junior Wells’ bandleader. Albert White performed with Piano Red in his band Dr. Feelgood & the Interns for over thirty years and has played with Ray Charles, Joe Tex, and many others.

WHO: Robert Lee Coleman, Robert Finley, Alabama Slim
WHAT: Music Maker Revue at Globalfest
WHEN: 7-8pm, January 17, 2016
WHERE: Webster Hall, NYC
TICKETS: $45, http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=6308625&pl=webhall

For more info on Globalfest, please go to: http://globalfest.org/

Anais Mitchell bio

Widely known as “the Queen of Modern Folk Music”, Anaïs Mitchell is first and
foremost a storyteller. A Vermont-based singer-songwriter, Mitchell’s musical style,
sound, and performance have led her to be compared to Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen,
and Gillian Welch. Mitchell was first signed by Ani Difranco to Righteous Babe
Records, where she recorded for several years before starting her own Wilderland
label in 2012. Among Mitchell’s recorded works are five full-length albums, including 2010′s sensationally reviewed “Hadestown” and 2012′s “Young Man in America,” which was described by critics as "genre-defining" and her "second consecutive masterpiece,”
and for which she received a BBC Radio Two Folk Award nomination for “Best Original Song.”

In addition to headlining worldwide, Mitchell has supported tours for Ani Difranco, The Low Anthem, Richard Thompson, Josh Ritter and the Punch Brothers, as well as two sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall with the band Bon Iver. Her 2013 release,
Child Ballads, won a 2014 BBC Radio Two Folk Award for Best Traditional Song, as well as finding itself on many ‘best of’ lists in international publications. In fall 2014, Mitchell releases ‘xoa’; a fifteen track solo collection including re-recorded songs spanning her ten year career, as well as a few completely new and previously unrecorded songs.
If there’s a common thread in Mitchell’s work–from her earliest acoustic records, to
the Hadestown opera, to this new chapter – it’s that she’s as interested in the world
around her as the one inside her. She has a way of tackling big themes with the same
emotional intimacy most artists use to describe their inner lives. “That’s why,” as one
journalist put it, “even in her most intimate moments, she never sounds like a
confessional songwriter.”

PATTY GRIFFIN, SARA WATKINS, AND ANAIS MITCHELL WANT YOU TO "USE YOUR VOICE"

SINGER/SONGWRITERS UNITE WITH LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
FOR MAJOR U.S. TOUR AND VOTER ENGAGEMENT DRIVE

38-CITY TREK SEES ACCLAIMED TRIO PERFORMING TOGETHER ON STAGE

"THE USE YOUR VOICE TOUR 2016" BEGINS FEBRUARY 12 IN ST. PETERSBURG, FL

(NEW YORK, NY) GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter Patty Griffin is teaming with fellow artists Sara Watkins and Anaïs Mitchell for a major U.S. tour and voter engagement drive in conjunction with the League of Women Voters. The "Use Your Voice Tour 2016," produced by Columbia Artists Management LLC, gets underway February 12 at St. Petersburg, FL's Mahaffey Theatre and then visits 37 more U.S. cities through early April (see itinerary below).

"The League is excited to be teaming up with Patty Griffin, Sara Watkins, and Anaïs Mitchell to make sure all voices are heard on Election Day 2016," said Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters. "We're ready to help fans get the election information they need, whether it's how to update their voter registration, find easy-to-understand local candidate and voting information, or learn about getting involved in the League's work."

The "Use Your Voice Tour 2016" follows the recent arrival of Griffin's extraordinary new album, SERVANT OF LOVE. Produced by longtime collaborator Craig Ross, the album - which includes the powerful first track release, "Rider of Days" - marks Griffin's ninth studio recording and first to be released via her new self-owned PGM imprint in conjunction with Thirty Tigers.  SERVANT OF LOVE has quickly drawn worldwide critical approval, with American Songwriter applauding her "unorthodox but effective foray into more oblique musical and philosophical waters...a bold, unexpected shift in vision."

Sara Watkins is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California and founding member of the progressive bluegrass group Nickel Creek along with her brother Sean and mandolinist Chris Thile. Over the summer, Sara and Sean toured and released their family-band-of-sorts project, Watkins Family Hour, that included stops at Conan, NPR's Tiny Desk Concert and Newport Folk Festival. The project featured an all-star band of Fiona Apple, Benmont Tench, Sebastian Steinberg and Don Heffington. Next year, Watkins will release her first solo offering in nearly four years.

Anaïs Mitchell is a Vermont and Brooklyn-based songwriter who comes from the world of narrative folksong, poetry and balladry. Her recent albums have found themselves on year end 'Best-Of' lists including NPR, Wall Street Journal and the Guardian. She's currently developing her folk-opera album Hadestown into a full stage production, which will premiere off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop in spring 2016.


ABOUT THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS:
A respected leader in the voter engagement field for 95 years, the League of Women Voters is active in all 50 states and nearly 800 communities. League volunteers conduct nonpartisan voter registration, education and mobilization year-round, every year with the goal of empowering millions of voters to participate and ensure they have fair and equal access to the vote. Visit the League's award-winning voting website, www.VOTE411.org , to find out about upcoming elections in your community.


###

PATTY GRIFFIN, SARA WATKINS, AND ANAÏS MITCHELL
THE USE YOUR VOICE TOUR 2016
Presented in Partnership with The League of Women Voters

FEBRUARY
12 - Mahaffey Theatre - St. Petersburg, FL
13 - Florida Theatre Performing Arts Center - Jacksonville, FL
16 - Hodgson Hall - Athens, GA
17 - Opelika Center for Performing Arts - Opelika, AL
18 - Egyptian Ballroom - Atlanta, GA
19 - Clemens Fine Arts Center - Paducah, KY
20 - Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts - Lexington, KY
23 - Peace Center Concert Hall - Greenville, SC
25 - Ferguson Center for the Arts Concert Hall - Newport News, VA
26 - Page Auditorium - Durham, NC
27 - Camp Concert Hall - Richmond, VA
28 - Shaftman Performance Hall - Roanoke, VA

MARCH
1 - Music Center at Strathmore - North Bethesda, MD
2 - Grand Opera House - Wilmington, DE
3 - Weis Center of the Performing Arts - Lewisburg, PA
4 - Mayo Performing Arts Center Theatre - Morristown, NJ
5 - Jorgensen Auditorium - Storrs, CT
6 - Kelley Theatre - Fairfield, CT
8 - Fuller Hall - St. Johnsbury, VT
9 - Hart Theatre - Albany, NY
10 - Sanders Theatre - Boston, MA
11 - Music Hall Portsmouth - Portsmouth, NH
12 - Music Hall Tarrytown - Tarrytown, NY
13 - Wilkins Theatre - Union, NJ
15 - Strand Theatre - York, PA
16 - Eisenhower Auditorium  - University Park, PA
18 - Dave Finkelman Auditorium - Middletown, OH
19 - Macomb Center for the Performing Arts - Clinton Township, MI
20 - Palladium Center for Performing Arts - Carmel, IN
22 - Bass Concert Hall - Austin, TX
23 - Tobin Center for the Performing Arts - San Antonio, TX
24 - Dosey Doe Coffee House - Houston, TX
25 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
26 - Hutchinson's Historic Fox Theatre - Hutchinson, KS
28 - The O'Shaughnessy Auditorium - St. Paul, MN
30 - Jackson Hall - Davis, CA
31 - Uptown Theatre  - Napa, CA

APRIL
1 - California Center for the Arts Concert Hall  - Escondido, CA
2 - Great Hall - Northridge, CA

Piney Gir: From Pentecostal upbringing to questioning God

It undoubtedly influenced Kansas-via-London UK artist Piney Gir’s fascinating music that she was raised in a strict Pentecostal household and not allowed to listen to pop music until the age of 14.

But where did the Pentecostal upbringing leave her in terms of her current beliefs. She addresses it in the new song “Oh God You Devil,” which asks God some questions directly. In contrast to the upbeat, kinetic nature of most of ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride,’ “Oh God You Devil” kicks off with hums in some kind of Dorian mode, typically used in India for mediation. Lyrics like, "Why can't I see you? ... I don't believe you... When you hide can you still see me?" She answers her own questions in the final verse, singing, "Isn't life as luck would have it?" Piney says, “Sealing the deal that perhaps this girl doesn't have much belief in God, at least not the God that is pitched to us in Western culture with the big white beard, sitting on a cloud punishing everyone.”

Early praise has already come from Pop Matters, Paste, and Glide for ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride,’ coming out February 19 on Greyday Records. It’s a new artistic high water mark, as she’s left behind her influences and found her own style and voice. Piney is planning select US tour dates.

Piney Gir "Mouse of a Ghost" video

LEAD BELLY FEST AT CARNEGIE HALL FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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PERFORMERS TO HONOR LONG-TIME NEW YORKER & ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE LEAD BELLY TO INCLUDE 5-TIME GRAMMY WINNER BUDDY GUY; ERIC BURDON OF THE ANIMALS; & MANY MORE

CONCERT PROCEEDS GO TO NON-PROFITS THE ASSOCIATION TO BENEFIT CHILDREN AND PROJECT ALS

“No Lead Belly, no Beatles.” – George Harrison

“Lead Belly wasn’t an influence, he was the influence.” – Van Morrison

Lead Belly Fest presents its first US performance at Carnegie Hall on February 4, 2016, a multi-artist, immersive tribute featuring five-time GRAMMY Award winner Buddy Guy and Eric Burdon (the Animals), among others.

Lead Belly gave his final performance in 1949 at Carnegie Hall shortly before he died of ALS on 6^th December of that year. Tom Paley of the New Lost City Ramblers performed at that 1949 concert and is the last man alive to have played with Lead Belly. Paley will return to the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall February 4.

Other performers include three-time GRAMMY winner Tom Chapin; Blues Music Award nominee Nick Moss with Michael Ledbetter, who is Lead Belly’s first cousin twice removed; two-time British Blues Award winner Laurence Jones; Josh White, Jr., (son of legendary folk singer Josh White who sang at Lead Belly’s funeral); Hot 100 Singles charting artist Ali Isabella, the “high-octane” (UNCUT) Walter Trout; NYC Blues Hall of Famer Sari Schorr; NYC’s very own Dana Fuchs; and NYC folk and blues artist and Village Voice cover story subject Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton; all playing with a house band led by Jon Cobert.

Lead Belly Fest sold out Royal Albert Hall this past June in a concert headlined by Van Morrison and received rave reviews:

“The stars came out to pay tribute in an incredible ensemble of talent. ‘Lead Belly Fest’ was, more than just a concert – it was a happening: without doubt one of the most diverse and authentic productions that this venerable hall has witnessed in many a year…”

- The London Times

A commemorative plaque to celebrate the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s longtime residence at 414 E. 10th Street, which became a hub of the folk revival, will be unveiled by a special guest at a ceremony to be announced in January.

Inspired by Lead Belly’s love of children, proceeds from the concert will go to NYC’s Association to Benefit Children (ABC). The Association to Benefit Children (ABC) is dedicated to bringing joy and warmth to disadvantaged children and their families through compassionate, sustainable, comprehensive and integrated services, designed to permanently break the cycles of abuse, neglect, sickness and homelessness.

ABC’s humane and innovative programs today include early childhood education for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, educational advocacy, housing assistance, mental health services, family support and preservation, crisis intervention, therapeutic out-of-school and summer day camp programs, youth leadership development and mentoring.

Project A.L.S. was founded in 1998, as a non-profit 501(c)3, when Jenifer Estess, a 35-year-old New York theater and film producer, was diagnosed with ALS. Told at the time of diagnosis to “max out her credit cards and eat junk food,” Jenifer instead committed her efforts to making a difference for people with ALS—and producing treatments and a cure.

Project A.L.S. identifies and funds the most promising scientific research that will lead to the first effective treatments and a cure for ALS. The new paradigm for brain disease research, Project A.L.S. recruits the world’s best scientists and doctors to work together rationally and aggressively toward a better understanding of the ALS disease process and, in parallel, better therapeutic strategies.

Tickets go on sale today and start at $40 at carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800, Box Office at 57th and Seventh.

Brian Carpenter & the Confessions "This Loney Road" video

directed by Joshua Black Wilkins