SATURDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2009
8:00pm
CHERYL WHEELER
With special guest MICHÉ FAMBRO
$25 ($22 members)

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It has always seemed as if there were two Cheryl Wheelers, with fans of the New England songwriter relishing watching the two tussle for control of the mic. There is poet-Cheryl, writer of some of the prettiest, most alluring and intelligent ballads on the modern folk scene. And there is her evil twin, comic-Cheryl, a militant trend defier and savagely funny social critic. The result is a delightful contrast between poet and comic.

Poet-Cheryl writes achingly honest songs of love and loss. Contrasting the prosaic landscapes of her native small-town America with the hopelessly rootless life of the traveling performer, she touches the common chords with any who feel the tug between our busy, clamorous times and the timeless longing for simplicity and silence. Her deceptively plain-spun songs have been hits for such main- stream stars as Suzy Bogguss (Aces) and Dan Seals (Addicted), and have been recorded by everyone from Bette Midler, Maura O’Connell, and Peter Paul and Mary; to Juice Newton and Garth Brooks.

Comic-Cheryl comes on like Groucho-in-a-housecoat; a fiercely everyday woman with a barbed-wire tongue. Shredding the mores of our gossipy, greedy, trend-obsessed culture, Wheeler always aims enough darts at herself to never seem sanctimonious.

Wheeler was born in the small town of Timonium, Maryland. The wistful rural vistas she glimpses so poignantly through her fleeting windshield really do represent the deep pull of place she feels in her wandering life. With the possible exception of Greg Brown, no modern songwriter comes to mind who can write as convincingly about the sheer, simple-hearted joy of a nice day; whether a warm spring one spent driving down southern back roads, or a chilly gray one spent thinking properly dark thoughts at a bayside hotel.



Opening the evening will be singer/songwriter/guitarist Miché Fambro. While there are a number of "guitar greats" to choose from and plenty of vocalists filling the stages, it is a rare performer who combines both. Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed Miché, "...a quiet storm," and his shows combine that intensity with a playful spontaneity that engages both the senses and the hearts of those who listen. Miché fuses elements of flamenco, jazz, classical, pop and soul into a style all his own. A high energy, unforgettable performer.