2nd SHIFT Concert: Abbie Gardner

abbiegardner.com

Don’t let her infectious smile fool you, beneath the radiant exterior lies the soul of a fierce and fiery dobro player. You might know her best from her work with Americana darlings Red Molly, but Abbie Gardner centered her own gritty, sweet tales of love and loss on her 2022 solo album Dobrosinger. You’ve seen a lot of singer/songwriters with acoustic guitars come through this series, but the dobro, played by sliding a steel bar along the strings, provides a particularly dynamic, expressive backdrop for Gardner’s songs.

Come for the heartfelt, intimate ballads and stay for the raw, bluesy picking. Gardner’s got all your musical bases covered, and we are very excited to have her close out our Spring 2023 series.

2nd SHIFT Concert: Jeff Black

jeffblack.com

You could measure Nashville-by-way-of-Kansas City-Missouri songwriter Jeff Black by the company he keeps, with his songs having been recorded by everyone from Alison Krauss and Waylon Jennings, to Jerry Douglas, John Oates, Dierks Bently, and more. But it’s better to appraise his work on its own terms, and Black’s spare-yet-unsparing delivery, with not much more than his voice and an acoustic guitar, infuses his songs with a stark and elemental weight.

Though Black was voted one of the top 100 Folk artists of the last 25 years by Boston's WUMB listeners, he doesn’t often make it up to these parts. Our 2nd Shift audience is in for a rare and special treat, so mark your calendars now.

2nd SHIFT Concert: Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem

raniarbo.com

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem’s steadfast brew of wit, camaraderie, and musicality leaves audiences everywhere humming and hopeful, spirits renewed.

Centered around the intimate, smoky grace of Arbo’s voice, the band’s signature lockstep harmonies can shake the rafters or hush the room. Sweet and sinewy fiddle, genre-defying guitar, rumbling upright bass, and the deep groove of Kessel’s homemade percussion kit combine to proudly position the group at the forefront of the lineage of string bands who gleefully blur the boundaries of American roots music. Original songs fit seamlessly aside artful re-workings of Georgia Sea Islands music, Hank Williams, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen — just a few of the many places this band is willing to go.

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem were originally part of our canceled fall 2020 series, and we are overjoyed to finally bring them to the museum for a night of memorable music.

2nd SHIFT Concert: Dori Freeman

dorifreeman.com

Dori Freeman first broke out in 2016, with a stunning debut produced by Teddy Thompson and a sparkling voice that seemed to come from out of nowhere. In fact, that unadorned and honest voice comes from Galax, Virginia, and is infused with the same sort of clear-eyed, fierce independence that is the trademark of her Appalachian home.

Freeman’s 2019 release Every Single Star, was stuck on repeat in our curator Mark Erelli’s stereo that year, and he made it his mission to present her music in the 2nd Shift Series. Though the pandemic had other plans and we had to cancel Freeman’s original show, we are so grateful for the second chance to bring her back in support of her most recent album Ten Thousand Roses.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to come out to the show and marvel at the incisive insight and bruised romanticism of her instantly memorable songs

SOLD OUT! 2nd SHIFT Concert: Sean Rowe

seanrowe.net

Sean Rowe is an American singer/songwriter whose powerful sound carries an emotional conviction that demands attention and a robust voice that NPR’s All Songs Considered says “can just crush granite.” Rowe’s baritone is as timeless as his approach, a organic cross between the earthy folk of Greg Brown, Van Morrison in his prime, and late-era Johnny Cash.

An avid naturalist and forager, with a popular web series called Can I Eat This?, Rowe speaks and sings of his deep connection to the land.

He’s shared the stage with Alabama Shakes and Robert Plant, and we’re more than honored to host him for a rare, Boston-area solo performance in our main gallery.

SOLD OUT 2nd SHIFT Concert: Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh and Melissa Carper

THIS SHOW HAS SOLD OUT

doors open 7:30, concert begins at 8PM

Masks encouraged Visit HERE for our current COVID-19 policies

kellywillis.com • brennenleigh.net • melissacarper.com

What do you get when one of Americana’s long-standing leading ladies teams up with an artist who just made a crackling record with western swing stalwarts Asleep At The Wheel, then add one of the greatest golden-era classic country singers and composers of this generation? One helluva a triple bill featuring Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper! March is always colder and grayer than we want it to be around these parts, so we are brightening things up by bringing a bit of Texas to New England. Any one of these artists would put on a fantastic show of her own.

We are pleased to kick off our Spring 2023 series by seeing what happens when they join forces for an evening of collaboration.