Hither and Yon

Some notes regarding the Narrows and the artists who perform there:

--If you have been a Patron of the Narrows, like me, please note your Patron membership has expired or will expire by years' end. Please renew your membership, or become a Patron! More info here. Remember, the Narrows is a non-profit.

--Congrats to Narrows fave Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles for being recognized in the Boston Music Awards as Americana act of the year.

--Crooked Still goes into the studio in January down south. Here's an excerpt from their newsletter:

While there aren't any more Crooked Still shows until January, we're hard at work preparing to head back into the recording studio to record our 4th studio album this month. We're really excited to be working with producer/engineer Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Dixie Chicks) and to be recording at Haunted Hollow, a studio retreat in Virginia owned by none other than Dave Matthews! It should be a great week down there. We've got a whole bunch of new material and can't wait to get into the studio and bring it to life. Look for the new CD to be released in May 2010.

--Been listening to Robert Cray's "Sweet Potato Pie" CD from the late 1990s. Terrific. He's making his debut at the Narrows in March. More info here.

--Your humble blogger chatted briefly with Eilen Jewell at the Chuck Prophet show. She and her group have been touring a fair amount overseas! Anyway, she always puts on a great show--she's one of my favorite songwriters too. She'll be at the Narrows in January. Details here.

--Thank you for all of the kind words after some recent concerts I emceed. Patrick Norton and Deb Charlebois, and others do the heavy lifting these days. Back in the Narrows' early days, when I still lived nearby, I used to haul out most of the bands, sometimes in less than stellar conditions (e.g. snowstorms!). It was a great way to get to know the artists and learn about life on the road. I miss that, although I don't miss the late nights and sometimes back-breaking work. I appreciate the folks who do that these days and salute them as unsung heroes at the Narrows. And I must not forget the amazingly talented and humble Brian Shriver who is a jack-of-all trades.