9/25/10
Greg Klyma
A January baby, born in Buffalo, NY on his father's bowling night, Greg Klyma is the son of a garbage man. Greg grew up in a blue collar town with a blue collar work ethic and an appreciation of blue collar fun. In August 1998, Klyma took that ethic out on the road, honing his songwriting, storytelling, musicianship, and presentation at venues and festivals across the US.Greg Klyma is the Rust Belt Vagabond (the name of his latest CD) - a folk troubadour with a rock 'n' roll heart, a home-cooked meal and a Vaudeville show in a fast-food, karaoke world. Simply put, Greg Klyma is an entertainer… and he's got songs. Lots of them. Besides his own prolific catalog of songs, ranging from historical ballads to outrageously funny bar songs, Greg can play hundreds of classic radio hits and album tracks. He is likewise known to improvise songs at the drop of a hat, keeping his shows forever in the moment. www.klyma.com
10/16/10
Nick Annis
Drilling for oil in the Midwest, selling ice cream from a truck, running a bakery. These are all starting points for a few stories Nick Annis deftly weaves between and through song and performance banter. One man medicine show? Itinerant philosopher? Come to a show and find yourself on an unexpected and welcome journey.Nick Annis is an award-winning songwriter, but he is also admired by folk fans for the storytelling talent that makes his performances so memorable. Audiences return to hear him deliver spoken word pieces in the style of brilliant songwriter / storytellers like Gamble Rogers, John McCutcheon, and Dave Carter. Drawing on his diverse background and Greek roots, Nick crafts “true” stories and timeless accounts of humanity. www.nickannis.com
10/30/10
Brian Ashley Jones
Jones showcases his writing and playing chops with 11 well crafted original songs in his current release Courier. The swampy instrumental "Pull 'em Up" has been featured in the widely acclaimed PBS television series Road Trip Nation, and "Take" earned Brian a finalist position in the 2008 Emerging Songwriter's Contest at the Flat Rock Music Festival. Along with his own busy touring schedule, Jones has accompanied a diverse batch of artists on stage and in the studio including Eric Heatherly, Caroline Aiken, Thom Shepherd, Sara Hickman, Donna Hopkins, David Gans, Doug Jones, Donovan Roberts, Jeff Black, Diane Durrett, Ralph Roddenbery, Deep Blue Sun, Celeste Krenz, Wyatt Easterling, and Grammy Award winning songwriter Jon Vezner. Brian will be accompanied at the Musical Lairs performance by extraordinary upright bass player, Tisha Simeral. www.brianashleyjones.com
11/27/10
Chuck Brodsky
Every Thanksgiving weekend since 2001, Chuck has come “home” to the Philadelphia area and to the Musical Lairs’ stage. Chuck’s shows are so popular that we both just routinely put the Saturday after Thanksgiving on our new calendars when we open them every January. This award winning, yet down to earth musical storyteller, with his dry, barb-witted social commentary combined with a deep underlying compassion, knows that the best stories are the little things in the lives of everyday people trying to muddle through with some grace. His great gift as a writer is to infuse these stories with humanity and humor, making them resonate profoundly with his listeners. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. www.chuckbrodsky.com
12/4/10
Les Sampou
Les Sampou began playing in the streets in what she terms “relatively late in life.” 25, when her friends were getting married, buying houses and planning for kids, Sampou started hitting the pavement to Harvard Square, the tunnels of the MBTA, as well as anywhere she could open her case for coins and applause. It was there she found her voice and polished her guitar playing and wrote the first of her prolific collection of songs.It wasn’t until now with her 2010 self-released ‘Lonesomeville,’ that Sampou feels like she “did it right this time.” Recording engineer Chris Rival, Sampou and her all star band of Boston’s cream of the crop session players recorded Lonesomeville live in two days. Ducky Carlisle, mix engineer, added his acclaimed rock edge to the Americana set of blues and soul-tinged country tunes. Lyrically, Lonesomeville sums up what Sampou writes about best—love gone wrong, hard goodbyes, and honky tonk heartbreak. Roberta B. Swartz of The Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange writes, “There is plenty of loving--hard loving and soft loving--in all kinds of places and spaces—on a train, in bed, on the road, and on the sly.” It’s been a few years since Les trekked down to Pennsylvania from her usual New England haunts, but she’s been very busy during her absence. It’s great to welcome her back to Musical Lairs. www.lessampou.com