Flagpole Radio Cafe

We are pleased to announce that celebrated singer songwriter Patty Larkin will be the guest artist for the December 3 presentation of The Flagpole Radio Café.  Tickets are now on sale at www.flagpoleproductions.org . The show begins at 7pm at the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, CT.  Ticket prices are $25 for adults, $20 for students and senior citizens.  If further information is needed, please contact us at info@flagpoleproductions.org .

Patty Larkin is part of the urban-folk and pop music phenomenon that spun off of the singer-songwriter explosion of the seventies.  A self described “guitar driven songwriter,” Larkin has wound her way through soundscapes of evocative vocals, inventive guitar wizardry and imaginative lyrics.  Her songs reflect a lyrical spectrum that comprises a rich diversity from impressionistic poetry to witty wordplay.

Patty Larkin grew up in a musical and artistic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Descended from a long line of Irish American singers and taletellers, her mother was a painter, her sisters both musicians.  She learned at a young age to appreciate the beauty and magic of the arts.  She began classical piano studies at age 7, and became swept up in the sounds of pop and folk music in the 1960s, teaching herself the guitar and experimenting with songwriting.  An English major, Larkin sang throughout her high school and college career, starting out in coffeehouses in Oregon and San Francisco.  Upon graduation, she moved to Boston and devoted herself to music, busking on the streets of Cambridge and studying jazz guitar at Berklee College of Music and with Boston area jazz guitarists.

In 2010 Patty Larkin released a collection of 25 love songs in celebration of 25 years in the recording industry appropriately titled 25.  Here Patty has reworked 25 of her favorite songs in an acoustic, “unplugged” release, joined by friends along the way.  Guest artists include Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Bruce Cockburn, Mary Chapin Carpenter and others.  25 is the unplugged version of classic Patty Larkin love songs, created with a dream team of some of acoustic music’s heroes.  A collectible collection for fans and critics alike, 25 is an eloquent marker for an illustrious career.

Patty Larkin has been redefining the boundaries of folk-urban pop music for decades with her inventive guitar wizardry and uncompromising vocals and lyrics. Acoustic Guitar hails her “soundscape experiments” while Rolling Stone praises her “evocative and subtle sonic shading.” She has been described as “riveting” (Chicago Tribune), “hypnotic” (Entertainment Weekly) and a “drop-dead brilliant” performer (Performing Songwriter).

Producer Martin Blanco remarked, “Our last three shows have been impacted by extraordinary weather.  We are looking forward to having our next show impacted by an extraordinary artist.  Whether through her singing, original music, distinctive guitar playing, or her entire performance persona, you are certain to be captivated by Patty Larkin.”

We are pleased to announce that dynamic harp sensation Deborah Henson-Conant will be the guest artist for the November 5 presentation  of The Flagpole Radio Café.  Tickets are now on sale at www.flagpoleproductions.org . The show begins at 7pm at the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, CT.  Ticket prices are $25 for adults, $20 for students and senior citizens.  If further information is needed, please contact us at info@flagpoleproductions.org .

            Deborah Henson-Conant is a prolific composer, a revolutionary harpist and a performer of irrepressible spirit.  . Her playing ranges from raucous to delicate and her performances blur the line between musical performance and theatrical event. She’s a cross-genre, Blues-Flamenco-Celtic-Funk-Folk-Jazz dynamo. She tells tall tales with the ease of a stand-up comic. She solos and wails like a rock guitarist. She turns music into theater and theater into something lyrical. See her once and you’ll never look at the harp the same way again.

            Deborah Henson-Conant has toured with the Boston Pops, opened for Ray Charles at Tanglewood, jammed onstage with Bobbie McFerrin and offstage with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, and starred in the PBS special “Celtic Harpestry.” She’s been featured on shows from CBS’ “Sunday Morning” and NBC’s “Today Show” to NPR’s “Weekend Edition” and the Food Network’s “Warped,” and interviewed by hosts and journalists from Scott Simon, Susan Stamberg and Studs Terkel to Charlie Rose and Joan Rivers.

            Her DVD & CD project with the Grand Rapids Symphony, “Invention and Alchemy,” received a Grammy Nomination and is appearing on PBS stations nationwide. The project features her one-woman show with 80-piece orchestra. The DVD is a full-length concert program with over 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes features; a multi-camera, surround-sound disc, shot in hi-definition. It has an Emmy-winning director, Grammy-winning sound engineers and a program of symphonic music theater that brings Deborah’s show closer than the front row.

            Producer Martin Blanco reflected, “Part of the aspirations of The Flagpole Radio Café show and the mission of the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission is to bring extraordinary and distinctive performers to Newtown.  Deborah Henson-Conant is a musician whose artistry answers that call in both the virtuosity of her musicianship and the imaginative way she approaches her instrument.  Her work is a delight for the senses and will have great appeal for anyone regardless of their musical taste.  We are all looking forward to her appearance with much excitement.”

The Newtown Cultural Arts Commission is pleased to announce that acclaimed singer, songwriter, and raconteur Christine Lavin will lead a knitting circle one hour before the March 19^th edition of The Flagpole Radio Café.  The knitting circle will take place in the Alexandria Room on the second floor of the Edmond Town Hall and begin at 6pm.  Participation is free and open to anyone with a ticket to the subsequent performance.

            Tickets are now on sale at flagpoleproductions.org . The show begins at 7pm at the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, CT.  Ticket prices are $18 for adults, $15 for students and senior citizens.  If further information is needed, please contact us at info@flagpoleproductions.org .

            Producer Barbara Gaines noted, “We’re delighted to have Christine Lavin at The Flagpole Radio Café and are looking forward to the knitting circle with much anticipation. I hope seasoned knitters take their current project and novices grab a skein of wool and join us for the fun.”

            Christine Lavin is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and recording artist living in New York.  She has recorded 20 solo albums, the most recent being Cold Pizza For Breakfast on Yellow Tail Records.  She has also produced nine compilation CDs showcasing the work of dozens of songwriters whose work she loves.  One of these recordings, the food-themed One Meat Ball, includes a 96-page cookbook that Christine edited.  For four years she hosted Slipped Disks on XM satellite radio, playing CDs slipped to her backstage by compatriots, and is the occasional guest host for the City Folk Sunday Breakfast Show on WFUV-FM at Fordham University.

             Ms. Lavin also writes freelance for various publications (including The Washington Post, the St. Petersburg Times, Performing Songwriter, and Delta Sky magazine).  Her song “Amoeba Hop” has been turned into a science/music book by illustrator Betsy Franco Feeney and received the stamp of approval from The International Society of Protistologists, and a “Best Book Award” from the American Association for The Advancement of Science.

            The book The Pluto Files:  The Rise And Fall Of America’s Favorite Planet, written by Neil deGrasse Tyson, head of the Hayden Planetarium in NYC, includes the complete lyrics to Christine’s song “Planet X,” which details Pluto’s history and planetary status debate in rhyme. The book is published by W.W. Norton (and Christine got a “D” in Astronomy in college).

            Christine performs concerts all over the United States, Canada, and points beyond such as Australia, Germany and Israel.   A distinctive hallmark of her concerts is her hosting knitting circles backstage prior to each show.   Her latest book project, Cold Pizza for Breakfast:  A Mem-Wha?  is available in paperback, Kindle, iPad, and audio book formats.  Just One Angel, her latest compilation project (22 artists, 22 Christmas/Hanukah/Solstice/New Year’s songs), was just released in time for the 2010 holiday season.

The Newtown Cultural Arts Commission is pleased to announce that acclaimed jazz-folk duo Bethany and Rufus will be the guest artists for the February 5^th edition of The Flagpole Radio Café.  Tickets are now on sale at flagpoleproductions.org .  The show begins at 7pm at the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, CT.  Ticket prices are $18 for adults, $15 for students and senior citizens.  If further information is needed, please contact us at info@flagpoleproductions.org .

            Bethany & Rufus are a cello and voice duo that push the boundaries of American roots music far into unexpected territories, sliding seamlessly between groove, world, blues, and traditional folk music – and when Bethany Yarrow and Rufus Cappadocia join forces on stage they spark a fire-in-the-belly, soul-stirring experience of American roots music that lingers long after the concert ends .

            As the daughter of folk legend Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary), Bethany Yarrow absorbed much of this music through osmosis in her early childhood, but it’s her tour-de-force stage presence, mesmerizing voice and deep knowledge of the material that allows her to turn these songs inside out and find their less explored, enchanted underside. Rufus Cappadocia is renowned for his cross cultural collaborations, taking the cello into previously unexplored realms. Cappadocia has collaborated with a wide spectrum of world music artists, and through his work with West African, Haitian Vodou and Arabic Music his unique musical voice traces the lineage of American music back to its root sources.

            In January 2007 Bethany & Rufus released their debut record “900 Miles” on Hyena Records. The press was universally positive.  For the duo, it was a great triumph for them and for the genre of folk music. “It was so rewarding to get folk music out of the box of the usual expectation of voice and strummed guitar and turn a whole other kind of audience on to these old songs,” says Rufus. “It was like putting American folk music back into the context of the folkloric traditions of the world.”

Executive Producer Martin Blanco remarked, “Peter Yarrow had such fun performing in our show last May, that he encouraged his daughter Bethany and her partner Rufus to perform at our show.  Once we heard Bethany’s sultry voice coupled with Rufus’ infectious cello, we knew we had to bring them to Newtown.  Their music is as beautiful as it is fiery; I can only hope the Fire Marshall doesn’t have issue with their appearance.”

Hear them again on WPKN during Chris Teskey’s show, Wednesday, December 8th, at 7:30. (FM 89.5 on the radio or click here to listen on-line)