Support
Our Sponsors
Our 2009-2010 Season Concerts
Cheryl Wheeler
with special guest Jake Armerding
Friday, Nov. 13, 8:00pm
Peterborough Players Theater
From her albums you can tell that she is a gifted songwriter with a beautiful voice. From other people's comments about her you can learn that she is a natural story teller with a fantastic sense of humor. She will tell a story that has you rolling in the aisles, and then sing a song that leaves you wiping tears from your eyes. She will talk about some serious current event, and then sing a song that will have you howling with laughter. Her entire concert is an emotional roller coaster. But until you see her in person, you never really believe what you've been told about her. Besides, almost half of the songs she does during her shows are fresh and new, and haven't been recorded!
The Boston Globe calls singer-violinist Jake Armerding "the most gifted and promising songwriter to emerge from the Boston folk scene in years". Jake has been playing violin and fiddle since the age of 5, has recorded 10 albums and recently logged his thousandth performance. He has shared the stage with Bela Fleck, Nickel Creek, Josh Ritter, David Wilcox and Toad the Wet Sprocket.
Tickets: $23 advance/ $26 day of the show
Buy Tickets
Harvey Reid &
Joyce Andersen
Sunday, Dec. 6, 7pm
Peterborough Players Theater
Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Harvey Reid has been called a "giant of the steel strings" and "one of the true treasures of American acoustic music." He has absorbed a vast repertoire of American contemporary and roots music and woven it into his own colorful, personal and distinctive style, showcasing his mastery of many instruments and styles of acoustic music, from hip folk to slashing slide guitar blues to bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, ragtime, and even classical.
Reid prides himself on his independence, and sees himself as a modern embodiment of the ancient minstrel. You'll find elements of the traditional troubadour; the modern poet-songwriter, the American back-porch picker, the classical virtuoso, and even a good bit of Will Rogers style dry humor and satire. You'll hear folk, country, classical, blues, ragtime, rockabilly, Celtic, bluegrass, and popular music influences.
After a decade as a "side-gal" fiddler playing in country bands (out of Nashville) as well as swing, bluegrass and celtic groups and playing a dizzying number of studio sessions, Joyce Andersen moved swiftly to center stage as a solo artist. Her recordings shine the spotlight on her guitar, her sophisticated songwriting, her haunting and unique voice, and her powerful fiddling. Her clear and powerful vocal/fiddle duets are a sound that is all her own.
Tickets: $18 advance/ $21 day of the show
Jonathan Edwards Trio
Saturday, January 16, 8:00pm
Peterborough Players Theater
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends…such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night—songs of passion, songs of insight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
Jonathan will be joined with his longtime accompanist Stuart Schulman on bass, piano, fiddle, and vocals and Taylor Armerding, formerly of Northern Lights, on mandolin and high-tenor vocals. Jonathan maintains that it is the feedback he receives after his shows that keeps him going. This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic. These days Jonathan Edwards, a vital and relevant artist in today's folk and Americana scenes, is much more likely to be found looking forward rather than back.
Jonathan Edwards Trio on YouTube.
Tickets: $23 advance/ $26 day of the show
Red Molly co-bill with Peter Mulvey
Saturday, February 20, 8:00pm
Peterborough Players Theater
The three women of Red Molly consistently brings concert-goers to their feet with stunning three-part harmonies, crisp musicianship and a warm, engaging stage presence.
Everything Red Molly sings is delivered with tick-tight arrangements, crystalline vocals, and caramel harmonies. But what is most striking is the ardor they bring to everything they do, whether snuggling into the sweet parochialism of an old spiritual, or the gritty pathos of a Gillian Welch tune. They come on less like stars strutting for their minions than pals sharing their favorite songs. If you love gorgeous voices, energy, and just plain fun, then Red Molly is a must-see.
Peter Mulvey got a start for his amazing career in Boston, where he took to playing in the subways as a full-time occupation. The seven hour sessions playing to passers-by and commuters not only strengthened his accomplished guitar playing but also sharpened his innate gifts as a communicator. In a few short years he had made the transition to touring songwriter. Next he threw himself into a life on the road. which further seasoned his abilities as a performer.
Whether playing solo or with a band in tow, Mulvey has a rare ability to hold an audience's attention and transport them, using wit, humor, and a subtle but sophisticated melodic and harmonic sensibility. He attempts to be the sum of his parts, to draw on all the musical legacies he has studied, to make a fresh, vital moment out of everything he and the audience have brought to the table that night. "People need this. I need this. To come together in a room, to try to make music come alive, for real, for right now, and then to let it go... that is the whole deal for me."
Tickets: $18 advance/ $21 day of the show
Crooked Still
Friday, March 12, 8:00pm
Peterborough Players Theater
Still Crooked, Crooked Still's latest album, is an ensemble effort of inspired music making that moves the group's' impossible to pigeonhole style in new directions while honoring their folk roots. "It's hard to pin down our music," bass player Corey DiMario says. "We play improvised old time music, bluegrass, folk and our own songs within the broad context of a string band. Like a lot of today's bands, we have modern and traditional influences that confuse the boundaries. We want to keep blurring those lines to make something all our own."
Crooked Still's genre-bending sound is the combination of five distinctive talents (a fiddler, cellist, lead vocalist, bass guitar and lead guitar), who are not content to limit themselves to any one project or style of music. Each individual contribution is enriched by the multidimensionality of their creative wellspring. Together, they have uncovered new facets of brilliance on Still Crooked. The genesis of the group continues to evolve. Much like moonshine distilled in the apparatus that inspired their name, Crooked Still is still fermenting. And the music on Still Crooked is undeniably intoxicating.
Tickets: $18 advance/ $21 day of the show
Ellis Paul
with special guest Antje Duvekot
Saturday, April 10, 8:00pm
Peterborough Players Theater
Ellis Paul is one of the leading voices in American songwriting. He was a principle leader in the wave of singer/songwriters that emerged from the Boston folk scene, creating a movement that revitalized the national acoustic circuit with an urban, literate, folk pop style that helped renew interest in the genre in the 1990's. Wise, tender, brilliant and biting, Ellis is one of our best human compasses, marking in melodies and poems where we've been and where we might go if we so choose to.
His charismatic, personally authentic performance style has influenced a generation of artists away from the artifice of pop, and closer towards the realness of folk. Though he remains among the most pop-friendly of today's singer-songwriters - his songs regularly appear in hit movie and TV soundtracks - he has bridged the gulf between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger more successfully than perhaps any of his songwriting peers.
Listen to music from Ellis Paul's new CD, The Day After Everything Changed..
Singer songwriter Ellis Paul says "Antje is the rare artist that can write about the social and the personal in the same breath. She is as understated as she is wise and her songs go down mentally as well as soulfully. Her voice has a sound of innocence and naivety which makes razor sharp insights into the human condition."
Tickets: $18 advance/ $21 day of the show
Home | Our Current Concert Series | Join Our Mailing List | Buy Tickets | Who Are We
Directions | Photos | Sponsorship | Donors | Volunteers | Booking Policy | Printable Flyers
Contact Us
Deb's Chesham House Concerts