: concerts, theater, music, entertainment

Unitarian Society of Hartford

Meeting House Presents 2021-22 Season

Concerts are the third Friday of the month at 7:30 pm.

Address: 50 Bloomfield Avenue  Hartford, CT 06105 Music

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Sept. 17, 2021              Abbie Gardner

Oct. 15, 2021                Scott Cook

Nov. 19, 2021              Vance Gilbert

Dec. 17, 2021               Reggie Harris and Pat Wictor

Mar. 18, 2022               Susan Werner

Apr. 22, 2022               Mad Agnes

May 20 , 2022              Seán Heely

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Abbie Gardner – Friday, September 17, 2021

50 Bloomfield Ave. at 7:30 p.m.

Abbie Gardner is a fiery dobro player with an infectious smile. Whether performing solo or with Americana darlings Red Molly, her tales of love and loss, both gritty and sweet, are propelled by her impeccable slide guitar chops. Her solo live show is truly unique – as an award-winning songwriter, captivating vocalist, & world-class dobro player. Her latest CD, Wishes on a Neon Sign was released in January 2018 and features twelve original songs, including a co-write with Chris Stapleton. She has opened for Lori McKenna, Hot Rize, and Martina McBride. But the best is yet to come…

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Scott Cook – October 15, 2021    50 Bloomfield Ave. at 7:30 p.m.

Scott  Cook distills the stories collected over twelve years touring across Canada, the USA, Europe, Asia, Australia and elsewhere into straight-talking, keenly observant verse. Road-worn, painfully honest, and deeply human, his tunes weave threads of folk, roots, blues, soul and country over spacious fingerstyle guitar and clawhammer banjo arrangements.

In 2017 he released his sixth album Further Down the Line, earning his second Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, for English Songwriter of the Year. The album is packaged in a 132-page softcover book offering a look back, in words and pictures, on his last decade of near-incessant rambling.

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival has announced Scott Cook won the 2019 Emerging Artists Showcase and will perform as one of 2020’s Most Wanted Artists. Cook was one of 24 contestants and won “with an amazing 49% of voters in his corner,” according to Anne Saunders, the festival’s artistic director.

Cook is one of the hardest-working DIY troubadours on the road today, averaging over 150 shows and a dozen festivals every year since 2007. All the hard miles notwithstanding, he still believes that songs can change your life, and your life can change the world.

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Vance Gilbert – November 19, 2021      50 Bloomfield Ave. at 7:30 p.m.

Vance Gilbert’s website

“If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might have been something close to the great Vance Gilbert.” As the above quote from Richmond magazine suggests, Vance Gilbert defies stereotypes. It’s little wonder then that he also exceeds expectations. In this case, those two qualities go hand in hand. “I’m black, I sing, I play an acoustic guitar, and I don’t play the blues,” Gilbert insists. That may be a broad statement, but it rings with truth.

What he does do is make memorable music, as evidenced by the 13 albums he’s released so far, as well as the mark he’s made on the folk and acoustic music scenes in general. Over the course of a prolific career that extends back to the early ’90s, he’s recorded with his good friend Ellis Paul and shared stages worldwide with Aretha Franklin, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Guthrie, the Milk Carton Kids, George Carlin (150+ shows), Anita Baker, the Subdudes, Paul Reiser and any number of others.

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Reggie Harris and Pat Wictor – December 17, 2021  

50 Bloomfield Ave. at 7:30 p.m.

Reggie Harris has been dubbed an “Ambassador of Joy, Hope, and Freedom,” and his new album, On Solid Ground, captures all of those qualities.

The lead track, “It’s Who We Are,” introduced as a single for Black History Month, in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, sets the tone.  It’s a hard-charging call-to-action, featuring Pat Wictor on slide guitar. With civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., and John Lewis as his inspirations, Reggie dares to address the divisions we face. When people ask, “How did we get here,” he responds, “It’s who we are,” but it doesn’t have to be that way:

It’s in our hearts | It’s in our hands|
It’s in our minds | But we can change!

Pat Wictor first burst on the folk and acoustic scene as an innovative slide guitarist known for fresh and memorable interpretations of traditional and contemporary songs.  Since then he has made his mark as a singer-songwriter penning lean and poetic songs that honor – and subvert – rural blues and gospel traditions. For seven years he toured as one third of Brother Sun, the powerful harmonizing trio with Joe Jencks and Greg Greenway, garnering critical acclaim, two #1 CDs on the Folk DJ charts, and a continent-spanning tour schedule.  Wictor’s newest recording is a duo album titled Counterpoise,  a collaboration with jazz vocalist Deborah Latz.   The two first sang together at a vocal improvisation workshop led by Bobby McFerrin.  His most recent solo release, This is Absolutely Real:  Visions and Versions of Phil Ochs, reached #2 on the Folk-DJ charts and was nominated for Best Tribute Album by the Independent Music Awards.

An American by birth, Pat’s early years were spent in Venezuela, the Netherlands, Norway, England, and East Texas. His time abroad gave him an outsider’s wide perspective, and set him on a journey to understanding America – and his own American-ness – through music.  His early experiences made him accustomed to charting his own course and being ready for the unexpected.

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Susan Werner – March 18, 2022    50 Bloomfield Ave. at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for this show.

Celebrated performing songwriter Susan Werner has made a name for herself coast to coast. From her 1995 major label folk/rock debut “Last of the Good Straight Girls” to her2007 collection of agnostic gospel hymns “The Gospel Truth” to her 2017 travelogue “An American In Havana,” Werner writes ambitious concept albums with subject matter and sounds to match.

Werner spills out trademark jazzy vocal stylings, pleasant acoustic ballads, a few Bangles-esque rockers, and plenty of word-riffing. “Always an impressive songwriter, Werner continues to compose sharp, funny, compassionate lyrics, a gift rare enough to set her apart…” — The Washington Post

• Susan Werner NPR appearances
• Susan Werner’s website

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Mad Agnes – April 22, 2022    50 Bloomfield Ave. at 7:30 p.m.

Mad Agnes is Margo Hennebach, Adrienne Jones and Mark Saunders. Each member arrived at the trio from a staggering list of solo accomplishments, including songwriting competitions, recordings, and the ability to sleep on any surface.

One Wild Dove video

Multi-instrumentalists all, Hennebach is classically trained in piano, Jones is self-taught on guitar and bass, and Saunders adds color with a vintage mandolin and subtle electronic processing on his guitar. The sound can be full as a concert hall or delicate as three voices singing a cappella.

Harmony-driven performance of contemporary singer-songwriter material influenced by classical, Celtic, folk/rock, PDQ Bach, and a touch of street theatre. Their lyrics, vocal intricacies and instrument prowess are unforgettable.

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Seán Heely duo with bouzouki player Beth Patterson– May 20, 2022   

50 Bloomfield Ave. at 7:30 p.m.

Magic and Myth: Music from the Old World and the New

Experience the magic music of Scotland and Ireland with Seán Heely and Beth Patterson. U.S National Scottish Fiddle champion Seán Heely and bouzouki player Beth Patterson perform fiery dance tunes and ancient, soaring melodies from Scotland and Ireland. Original compositions abound and they have rich vocal harmonies in their solid song repertoire that features ballads, sea shanties, and songs in Irish and Scottish folk tradition. Seán plays fiddle, mandocello, shruti box, and sings in English, Irish, and Scots Gaelic.

Multi-Genre violinist/fiddler Seán Heely is one of the most creatively versatile and captivating young artists of his generation. He is a U.S National Scottish Fiddle Champion as well as an award-winning Irish Fiddler and singer in the folk traditions of Scotland and Ireland. Seán holds a degree from University of South Carolina in Classical Violin Performance and was a 2019 Artist in Residence at Strathmore Music Center in Maryland.An educator in demand, Seán is an Adjunct Instructor at American University, he has also been on the faculty at several summer camps such as Acadia Traditional School of Music and Arts, Upper Potomac Fiddle Retreat, and Fiddle Hell Festival. He was selected to compete in the prestigious Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann All-Ireland Senior Fiddle competition in Aug 2017. He has performed in Scotland, Ireland, and at venues in the U.S such as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Seán has performed with traditional music icons such as Liz Carroll, Bonnie Rideout, Natalie Haas, Cathy Jordan, Eamon O’Leary, Zan McLeod, and Paddy Keenan.

Along with his accolades in Traditional Music, Seán made his Classical solo debut with the Virginia Symphony in 2012 performing Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto. A composer and arranger, Seán has won national awards including the 2016 Scottish Fiddling Revival’s Tune writing competition. Seán was a featured soloist with the Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk, VA in April 2017 and 2019. Recently, Sean was named the recipient of the first annual Claude Martin Memorial Life Membership Award from the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, an honor granted in recognition of his significant contributions to the local folk scene while still under age 30.

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Ticket prices for most shows:

• $20 general admission.
• $14 for students with ID.
• Children under age 12 are free with paying parent.

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Waiting to reschedule

   Maine Fiddle Camp comes to Connecticut

For the first time, Maine Fiddle Camp is bringing a road show to Connecticut so we can enjoy the unique blend of traditional Maine music with a variety show twist. Music will be performed by some of the very talented professional musicians who spend part of their summer teaching at Maine Fiddle Camp, to raise money for their Scholarship Fund. After intermission we might even have a barn dance in Fellowship Hall.

Archive list of 2017-20 Meeting House Presents performers

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We don’t take reservations, but advance tickets are available online at Brown Paper Tickets. Information about Brown Paper Tickets.

Contact information:

• Buy tickets at Brown Paper Tickets or at the door if the show is not sold out
• Email us at MeetingHousePresents@gmail.com
• Phone the Unitarian Meeting House at (860) 233-9897, Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10:00-3:00
• Phone Laura and Paul Cipriano at (860)298-9984
• Check this web page or subscribe to our email list for notification if shows are sold out or rescheduled

Our email includes concert announcements, updates, and info about folk music events in the area. Subscribe to Meeting House Presents Email  send a message to MeetingHousePresents@gmail.com. Put “subscribe” in the subject line. We send one or two emails each month. 50 Bloomfield Ave. at 7:30 p.m.