Hey NYC friends. I booked a last minute show at my favorite intimate New York City venue, Banjo Jim’s. I’ll be playing some acoustic and some electric guitar, debuting folk ballads from my recent session with Anais Mitchell, and playing a few of my own newer songs. The show starts at 10:00. I hope to see you there!

Banjo Jim’s – 9th and Ave. C – NY, NY

I’m very excited (Wicked Excited, as they say) for this show with some of my closest, most talented friends. Simply put, Mike and Ruthy are wonderful songwriters, singers, and performers. I met them out at the High Sierra Music Festival in the summer of 2007. They were playing with the Mammals, and also giving a songwriting workshop that I happened to be a part of. We’ve been friends ever since, and I’m always inspired and challenged by their music and lyrics. Hanneke is another good friend of mine- a fiddle force of nature, a respected composer, and a dance partner to tango with. I can’t wait to see her with her band. Laura and I bring our electric duo to round out this fantastic triple bill.

Hooks, Lines and Singers
The Hanneke Cassel Band, Mike & Ruthy, Laura Cortese & Jefferson Hamer
Thursday, February 4th One Longfellow Square, Portland, ME
8:00pm $12-$15 http://www.onelongfellowsquare.com

You know those nights when you leave a concert with a great new song stuck in your head? Well between these three fiery, original acts you should be humming new hooks for a week. The Hanneke Cassel Band, Mike & Ruthy, and Laura Cortese & Jefferson Hamer will be sharing the stage at One Longfellow Square and filling the room with their fiddle-infused pop-folk.

Hanneke Cassel returns to One Longfellow Square with her LATEST RELEASE, For Reasons Unseen (November 2009). Influences from Scotland to China, along with grooves and musical innovations from the hip Boston bluegrass/Americana scene, fuse together to create a uniquely American approach to Scottish music. She creates sounds on the cutting edge of acoustic music, while retaining the integrity and soul of the Scottish tradition.

Mike & Ruthy are no strangers to Portland having opened for Arlo Guthrie at the Merrill Auditorium with their band The Mammals a few years back. Their last duo show at the North Star Music Cafe attracted a bustling crowd – with people singing along from the back row to the front. Their music is a mixture of old-time banjo twinkle and soft vocal alchemy.

Laura Cortese and Jefferson Hamer have spent this year playing together as a duo and as sidemen for some of America’s best known folk and rock artists including Pete Seeger, Michael Franti, Patterson Hood, Band of Horses, Anais Mitchel, Reed Foehl and Great American Taxi. When on tour together Jefferson and Laura play Americana-infused original songs with quirky and energetic arrangements. Their live shows include a wild cover of Feist’s “I Feel It All”, played with unique rhythmic fiddle accompaniment dubbed “drum and chop indie pop”.

These fine players are all friends who have collaborated before. They’re looking forward to hearing each other’s new songs at One Longfellow Square and sitting in with each other on a few familiar tunes. The energy will be lively and the sounds will be sweet.

I’ll be playing with some of my favorite Irish musicians from New York City this Friday. The Murphy Beds is a song-based quartet featuring Eamon O’Leary on Bouzouki, Guitar, and Vocals, Ryan McGiver on Guitar and Vocals, and Cleek Schrey on Fiddle. I play Mandolin and sing Traditional songs, as well as some arrangements of compositions by Richard Thompson, Woody Guthrie, and others. Eamon is NYC Irish music legend, founder of the Sunday afternoon session at The Brass Monkey and the much-missed Monday night session at Mona’s. If you live near Redding, CT and are a fan of Irish music, you don’t want to miss this!

http://www.shamrockirishmusic.org/id79.html

Jefferson and Laura Cortese will be appearing on the Steam Powered Hour at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City, Sunday, Jan. 10 at 8 PM. We will be playing with 12 other bands. All of us are vying for a slot at the 2010 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. This promises to be a great show with a field of talented performers. Wish us luck, and see you in New York!

I’m so excited to be playing the incredible Boulder Theater in Jan. with my friend and collaborator Erik Deutsch! Erik and I used to live across the hall in the University of Colorado dorms (Hallett Hall, for anyone who was there, or can still remember anything after 2 semesters). He moved to New York City a few years before I did in 2008, and we’ve been playing steadily together ever since. This is a big show for us, a sort of homecoming, and a CD release party for Erik. Please mark your calendars for Jan. 21, and come out for the show. I’ll be playing with some friends from Boulder and NYC- more on this later. Tom Hagerman also performs with his group “The Guerilla Ensemble.”

http://www.bouldertheater.com/event_detail.php?id=1224

Here is the description from the Boulder Theater website:

ERIK DEUTSCH “HUSH MONEY” CD RELEASE PARTY
w/ JEFFERSON HAMER BAND
and TOM HAGERMAN & THE GUERILLA ENSEMBLE

Pianist, composer, arranger, teacher, producer—these are some of the faces Erik Deutsch has shown the world. An intensely creative and talented player, he has the ability to lend his sound to an impressive array of musical endeavors.
After a decade in Colorado, Erik is now a resident of Brooklyn, New York. His current projects include Erik Deutsch Band, Norah Jones, Ellery Eskelin/Allison Miller/E.D. Trio, Trevor Dunn’s Madlove, Erin McKeown Band, Kristina Train, A Big Yes and a Small No, Ron Miles Band, Sonya Vallet and Los Profugos Galacticos, Jessica Lurie Ensemble, David Soler Denga Project, County Road X, Triangle, and a partnership with house music guru Mr. V.
Erik has the honor of being the only keyboardist ever to work in Charlie Hunter’s band. Currently in his third year of duty, the trio has been busy traveling to the far corners of the globe. Performances in Russia, Turkey, Greece, Morocco, and Mexico have been highlights. The trio released Mistico (Concord/Fantasy)in 2007 and dropped their second record, Baboon Strength (Spire Artists), in September of 08.
The Erik Deutsch Band recorded a new album in Brooklyn in January of 09. Hush Money is set for release on November 10th. The album features Mike McGinnis (reeds), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Jonathan Goldberger (guitar), Jonti Siman (bass), Marc Dalio (drums), and special guests Eric Biondo (trumpet) and Barry Saunders (bari sax). The record is a foray into the cinematic realm of Deutsch’s compositional mind: synthesizers, dreamy reeds, and warm analog tape ooze into the psychedelic soundscape of his chamber-rock songs. Hush Money could be seen as an amalgamation of Deutsch’s life-long musical influences….

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jefferson Hamer started out on the Colorado and West Coast festival circuits, first with the original acoustic trio Single Malt Band, and later in the electric country outfit Great American Taxi. In 2008 he moved to Brooklyn, NY, and now plays with an A-list of folk, pop, and traditional artists including Anais Mitchell, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Reed Foehl, and Laura Cortese. His solo shows are typically performed on electric guitar, lending an explosive, full-spectrum sound to his original songs. Jefferson’s only solo release, 2004’s Left Wing Sweetheart, earned a 4-star review from Marquee Music Magazine, who wrote it “sounds like a forgotten Gram Parsons release suddenly discovered.”

Best known as a member of both DeVotchKa and the Denver Gentlemen, accordionist/violinist Tom Hagerman recently released his first solo album, The Breakfast Playground. Named for a children’s playground at a Denver mall, the album showcases Hagerman’s diverse talents through original instrumentals performed almost entirely on his own. Like the music of DeVotchKa, Hagerman’s songs have a dramatic, cinematic quality, inviting listeners on a journey.