Concerts are Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Tickets $15 in advance (and for members) or $18 at the door.
Select Your Tickets for Rockville Concerts Here
Mount VernonAlexandria
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Lara Herscovitch and John Jennings
Lara Herscovitch’s music is an original blend of modern acoustic/folk with blues, jazz, and pop influences. Former State Troubadour of Connecticut (2009-2010), Lara brings a charm, authenticity, and love of performing that immediately resonates with diverse audiences. She has appeared as a guest on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Her new release, "Four Wise Monkeys" (produced by John Jennings) is about facing adversity and undergoing transformation — personal, social, political. While the proverbial three wise monkeys see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, Lara's message is clear: Take a stand. Make a choice. Pick a side. Do something.
John Jennings
John Jennings produced Carpenter’s first CD and went on to produce and record 11 top-10 singles and two Grammy-award-winning albums with her. A singer-songwriter in his own right, he’s also recorded five independent albums; his most recent is "more Noise From Nowhere." He describes his work as “eclectic. Pretty rocking to pretty minimalist to pretty ’30s.” Said Bethesda Magazine: "Listen for love songs, political ditties ... catchy tunes, bluesy guitar and danceable beats."
"Her voice and performance style captivated right away.
She truly stands out in a crowd."
- Valley Folk
"Jennings has remained one of Washington, D.C.'s most accomplished musicians."
- Craig Harris, Rovi
David LaMotte is an award-winning songwriter and itinerant peace activist. A veteran of 10 CDs and 2,000 concerts on four continents, he suspended his 18-year music career at its peak in 2008 to accept a Rotary World Peace Fellowship to study International Relations, Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. As part of that study, he also spent three months in rural Andhra Pradesh, India working with a Gandhian development organization.
David's music is highlighted by standout guitar work and lyrics that are evocative
in their observation of personal, social and political
struggles. Though his convictions are evident, he chooses to raise important
questions rather than trying to answer them.
“...pushes the envelope
with challenging lyrics and unusual
tunings, but he also pays homage
to folk tradition.”
- Boston Globe
“...guitar-spanking open-tuning
grooves as well as gentle folk-tinged
pop. His lyrics range from insightful
image-driven stories to equally
insightful humor.”
- Washington Times
Joe Scott, on double neck guitjo, and Hannah Alkire, on cello, are from Colorado and have graced stages throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and Canada. With nine CDs and a DVD to their credit, these masterful artists continue to captivate audiences throughout the world with their signature “new acoustic” sound and boundless possibilities in blending Celtic, Folk, World & Latin music influences, something that Dirty Linen Magazine praises as “a sumptuous musical feast.”
Their original sound is created by the mixing of their diverse musical backgrounds and their unusual instrumentation. Classically trained cellist Alkire is recognized internationally for her stunning tone and emotional, impeccable playing and for taking the cello places it’s never been before. Scott plays a double neck guitjo, a 14-string instrument designed so that he can play both necks simultaneously. (The 7-string guitjo neck has only high-pitched, treble strings, and sounds much like a harp or hammer dulcimer. The guitar neck is strung like a traditional 6-string guitar, but has an additional bass string.)
“Acoustic Eidolon offers concert-goers a chance to absorb some of the most powerful and intriguing music on the scene today.”
- Good Life Magazine
A set by American songwriter Zoe Mulford is like a small volume of short stories - evocative, beautifully crafted, and endlessly varied. Whether her starting-point is Franklin’s doomed polar expedition or the neglected contents of her own refrigerator, her vivid storytelling and down-to-earth humor promise listeners an enjoyable journey. She backs her clear voice with guitar or claw-hammer banjo and intersperses her own songs with selections from the music that inspires them: American and British folk ballads, Appalachian banjo tunes, and the work of songwriters from George Gershwin to Richard Thompson. Raised near Philadelphia, she now lives in Manchester, England and plays on both sides of the Atlantic.
Pat Wictor
Pat Wictor first burst on the folk and acoustic scene as an innovative slide guitarist known for doing fresh and memorable versions of traditional and contemporary songs. He's become a well-regarded singer and songwriter, writing material grounded in the rural country, gospel, and blues traditions of our nation. In the past year he's been touring nationally as one third of Brother Sun, the powerful harmonizing trio with Joe Jencks and Greg Greenway, garnering festival bookings and a #2 CD on the Folk DJ charts.
“There’s an eminently listenable catchy American edge to her voice combined with an English folk delivery that forges a magical bond between two distinguished branches of folk music.”
- Tim Carroll, Folkwords
“Her short stories and striking observations are a delight - as are her banjo and guitar driven, melodically sung narratives.”
- James Sutherland, BBC Manchester Website
“While he can fingerpick like the best of them, he is an absolute madman on the lapsteel. Unquestionably, anyone who has ever heard a Wictor show will permanently place him in the company of the best in the genre - Harry Manx, Kelly Joe Phelps and Ed Gerhard.”
- Frank Matheis, TheCountryBlues.com
“Pat Wictor walks onstage and sits down. He places a Guild DV-52 flat across his lap and begins playing slide guitar. The sounds are snaky and sizzling.”
- Richard Cuccaro, Acoustic Live
