Above: This month, the coffeehouse welcomes a performer known for songwriting and storytelling, plus openers known for beautiful harmonies. (promotional photos)
The Steeple Coffehouse is reopening its doors this spring. Headlining a week from Saturday is Vance Gilbert. The coffeehouse pitches:
Vance is one of the best all-around performers we’ve heard, blending evocative and thought-provoking songs with hilarious stories.
In another communication, the coffeehouse describes his “quick wit and masterful stage presence” that will make you laugh and cry.
Opening for Gilbert is “an amazing duo all the way from the UK” and “well known for their beautiful songs and harmonies”, The Black Feathers.
Online tickets are available at a discount ($17 general/$14 seniors & students) here. At the door on Saturday, March 30th, admission will be $20 general/$17 seniors & students. Doors open at 7:00, music begins at 7:30.
If you aren’t familiar with the venue, the coffeehouse is held in Pilgrim Church’s Fellowship Hall:
The parlor becomes a green room. The curtains are drawn on the stage. Volunteers put out the tables and chairs, and line up the desserts.
A cd table is set, the sound check starts, coffee is brewing. Pilgrim Church’s Fellowship Hall becomes “The Coffeehouse.”
In addition to bringing culture to the masses, the music hall helps support the Southborough Food Pantry. So, please bring a pantry contribution.
Forgive me for the huge music sample embeds. Spotify won’t make them smaller, and I always believe that when it comes to music, hearing is better than reading.
But in this case, the reading is pretty impressive.
Gilbert’s media kit features a compelling Boston Globe write up of him in concert:
His catchy, pop friendly melodies support keenly crafted, hard-hitting lyrics. His guitar is supple, his milk-warm tenor honest and gently acrobatic. He does not duck hard truths and never succumbs to the temptation to tie his points up in neat platitudes or truth-isms. He writes powerfully and uncompromisingly about the wrenching separation suffered by single parents, the tug between love’s desire and its demands, and the bitterness of being non-white in this Euro-centric culture … He is that rare performer for whom people lean forward in their seats as eagerly between songs as they do during them.
He also has a bio full of impressive name drops (like Aretha Franklin), but it’s too long to add here. (Click here for that.)
Of course, as the coffeehouse promotes, the headliner is also known for his humor. For his lighter side, check out this video of him performing “Zombie Pattycake” last year (when he was sporting a scruffier look):
As for the opening act, their website describes a rare “ability to write songs that are both modern and ancient”:
Ray Hughes and Sian Chandler] first became aware of the magic between them while collaborating on several musical projects, becoming The Black Feathers and life partners in 2012.
Americana, Folk, and Acoustic Indie Rock sensibilities coexist comfortably in their musical world, with Hughes’ guitar work buoying the kind of harmonies often only heard in family bands.
It’s been an incredible couple of years for the The Black Feathers. Their debut album was met with critical acclaim and broke into the Top 10 in the iTunes Country chart and the Official UK Americana Chart. A live album recorded at The Convent in Stroud has also just been released and very well received.
This video appears to be of that live performance:
Another of their albums, “Soaked to the Bone”, prompted the following review highlights:
“Mesmerising and stunning in equal measure… An artistic triumph for a duo of undeniable talent.” – FATEA
“Draws you in for a brilliant, effervescent ride from the moment you press play” – Maverick ★★★★
“Sheer poetic beauty both lyrically and musically.” – Cryptic Rock ★★★★★
“Positively sparkles with energy and joy. Magical ballads that would encourage the rowdiest of crowds to fall silent.” – For the Country Record
