 | DescriptionTom Rush’s
impact on the American music scene has been profound. He helped shape the folk
revival in the ’60s and the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s, his music having
left its stamp on generations of artists. James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Tom
Petty and Garth Brooks have cited Tom as major influences. His early recordings
introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and James
Taylor. Subsequently, his Club 47 concerts brought attention to emerging
artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin. Now touring with
singer/songwriter Matt Nakoa on piano and guitar, Tom is now celebrating his
52nd year on stage and in the studio, still doing what audiences love him for:
writing and playing …passionately, tenderly…knitting together the musical traditions
and talents of our times.
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Matt Nakoa grew up on a small goat farm in Smyrna, NY and
began composing music as a teenager. Following a formative stint as a
classical pianist, Matt won scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music
in Boston. There he studied alongside soon-to-be Grammy winners St.
Vincent and Esperanza Spaulding among others. After college, Matt toured
with his band, The Fens, and eventually landed in New York City’s vibrant piano
bar scene. Matt quickly became a star performer at Manhattan’s Brandy’s
Piano Bar, with lines outside the door each Saturday night. Matt’s first
solo album, Light In The Dark (2012), is an eclectic pop opus.
In contrast, A Dozen Other Loves (2014), explores a simple acoustic
palette. This intimate collection has earned many songwriting awards,
including a win at Kerrville Folk Festival’s prestigious New Folk
Competition. Additionally, Matt’s piano music has received favorable
reviews in publications including The New York Times, and his film scoring
has been featured by Disney. Matt now tours internationally, recently
performing at The White House, throughout India, and regularly with folk
music icon Tom Rush.
Songwriter and guitarist Cosy Sheridan
has been called one of the era’s finest and most thoughtful songwriters. Her
CD, Pretty
Bird,
was listed in Sing Out Magazine’s Great CDs of 2014. Her concerts are full
of energy and emotionality - and her songs are carefully crafted. “Cosy writes
intelligent and clever lyrics with stickable melodies,” wrote Sing Out. She first caught the
attention of national folk audiences in 1992 when she won the Kerrville Folk Festival
and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival songwriting contests. The Boston Globe
wrote “She is now being called one of the best new singer/songwriters.”
She has been on the road ever since,
playing clubs, concert halls and coffeehouses across the country. “You can't
make it into double digits, and continue touring for twenty or so years, unless
you know what you're doing, and do it well,” wrote The Chicago
Examiner.
Her concerts are a wide-ranging exploration of love songs for adults, practical
philosophy and her signature parodies on women and aging. Backed by the strong
rhythms and harmonies of her bass player Charlie Koch, she plays a percussive
bluesy guitar style - often in open tunings and occasionally with 2 or more
capos on the guitar neck. She also wrote a one-woman show for young women with
eating disorders called “The Pomegranate Seed.”
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