West Side Folk

Richard Shindell and Antje Duvekot

An expatriate New Yorker now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Richard Shindell is a meticulous craftsman of song who is revered by critics and fans alike. Innovative, original and occasionally spiritual, Shindell's songs weave tales that interchangeably champion the downtrodden, exalt the disaffected or wax empathetic to those lost to society's fringes.

“Shindell is a master builder of songs” (Boston Globe) and “a master of subtle narrative” (Wall Street Journal).

“Occasionally an artist has a night that makes even skeptics think, 'OK, maybe he is the best.' Richard Shindell achieved this on Thursday at the Bottom Line. His set list highlighted only strengths, his voice never wavered and his band flawlessly accentuated his songs. Like two other “best” singer-songwriters, Bruce Springsteen and Lucinda Williams, he dwells on big, often difficult moments in the lives of ordinary people.”(New York Times)

Born in Heidelberg and living in the U.S. since age 13, Antje Duvekot is one of the brightest lights in the fertile Boston singer-songwriter scene. She's won the Triple Crown of songwriting contests: Grand prize in the John Lennon songwriting competition, the Kerrville Best New Folk Award and a Boston Music Award for Outstanding Folk Act. The Boston Globe says her “provocative, dark-eyed ballads are becoming the talk of the folk world. Duvekot has gotten hotter, faster than any local songwriter in recent memory.” Former Rolling Stone editor Dave Marsh says “Antje is the whole package... I've had this reaction once in the past ten years, and that was the first time I heard Patty Griffin.” Dylan, Springsteen and Sting producer Neils Dorfman says “When I first heard Antje I knew I was witnessing something very special... Her songs are stunning paintings of color and shade, and always generate the heat and light that real art should.” 

Carrie Newcomer
As author Barbara Kingsolver says, “Carrie Newcomer is much more than a musician. She's a poet, storyteller, snake charmer, good neighbor, friend and lover, minister of the wide eyed gospel of hope and grace.” For Newcomer, beauty is discovered in the midst of the ordinary and life is experienced in the spaces between darkness and light. Rolling Stone calls her “rapturously tuneful” and the village Voice cites her “warm spirit, heated intelligence, burning talent.” The Austin American Statesman says her voice is “as dark, rich and luscious as Godiva chocolate.” She'll come to Lawrence with a brand new CD, Before and After, to be released in Februrary on Rounder Records, and after a busy year of touring and also a visit as cultural ambassador to India.

John McCutcheon

John McCutcheon is America’s balladeer. His songs sing of the nation’s heritage. His words channel the conscience of our people into streams of poetry and melody. He writes about subjects small and great, from a child’s haircut to freedom and human dignity – issues equally eternal and enduring. Think of McCutcheon as an incarnation of Pete Seeger and Mr. Rogers, Will Rogers and Bruce Springsteen, and above all Everyman, righteously passionate and impishly playful, blessed with gifts as a songwriter, historian, musician and storyteller that have won him praise in Australia as “the most overwhelming folk performer in the English language,” from a Russian critic as “the most versatile and compelling performer this reviewer has ever seen,” and from Johnny Cash as “the most impressive instrumentalist I’ve ever heard.”

Add to that the 31 albums in his catalog, and the six Grammy nominations and multiple Parent’s Choice and American Library Association awards they’ve won, stir in the diverse and growing following that has flocked to his shows, around the world and as nearby as a school or concert venue near you, and the point is made clear: John McCutcheon is as timeless as tradition, as immediate as tomorrow’s headlines, and as vital as any artist who seeks to enlighten as well as entertain.

“This notion of telling stories of ordinary people who have done great things, and carrying those stories from one place to another, of telling people ‘this is where I’ve been, these are the stories I can bring you,’ is the heart of what I do,” McCutcheon sums up. “That’s my goal. If you can recognize yourself in my songs, then I’ve done my job.”

Cited as “the perfect example of the modern folk musician” by Sing Out! magazine, lauded by Utne Reader for conveying “his message about the amazing endurance of what’s best in American culture,” McCutcheon lives in Georgia but keeps moving, toward wherever he senses there’s still a story yet to be told.

Peter Mulvey

“I like making records,” reflects songwriter Peter Mulvey, “but my job is the live show: getting up in a room and taking people somewhere.”

Over the past 20 years, Mulvey has pursued a restless, eclectic path as a writer and musician – immersing himself in Tin PanAlley jazz, modern acoustic, poetry, narrative, and Americana stylings. Relentlessly touring as a headliner – his attitude is, “When you love what you do, you can work all the time,” – he has also shared the stage with luminaries such as Emmylou Harris, Richard Thompson, Ani diFranco, Indigo Girls, and Greg Brown, and has attracted an audience that stretches from Anchorage to Amsterdam.

The road years further seasoned his abilities as a performer. Whether playing solo or with a band in tow, Mulvey has a rare ability to hold an audience’s attention and transport them, using wit, humor, and a subtle but sophisticated melodic and harmonic sensibility to gracefully introduce complex and provocative concepts and characters.

For the past several years Peter has done an annual Fall tour entirely by bicycle, partly for environmental reasons and partly for the sheer fun of continuing his creative, unorthodox approach to a long and fruitful career as an artist.

In every aspect of his career, Mulvey draws on an extremely broad swath of influence; he is always reading, listening, and eager to hear new poetry, modern minimalist composers, old-time fiddle tunes, Argentinean trip-hop, or top-shelf bar bands. Said The Irish Times: “Peter Mulvey is consistently the most original and dynamic of the US singer-songwriters to tour these shores. A phenomenal performer with huge energy, a quick fire, quirky take on life, and an extraordinary guitar style. A joy to see.”