SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2011
8:00pm
A HURDY GURDY NOTEWORTHY NIGHT CONCERT
RANDALL WILLIAMS and KEVIN SO
$15 ($12 members)
**SPECIAL DISCOUNT OFFER FOR SERIES PACKAGE 4 CONCERTS FOR ONLY $45 – CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS**
As part of our 30th anniversary celebration, Hurdy Gurdy Noteworthy Nights is a special series of four co-bill concerts (11/19, 1/7, 2/4 & 3/24) that will celebrate our past and set the stage for the future. We are offering this series at a very special price to enable our patrons to experience . We are also offering a $45 package price for this series – buy 3 and get the 4th free! This special package offer is available for advance purchase before November 18! Click here for info.
Our first Hurdy Gurdy Noteworthy Night features two exceptional singer-songwriters, each having built a reputation for their passionate performances.
“Randall Williams explodes onto the scene like a bolt of lightening” was how Rich Warren described Randall’s most recent CD in Sing Out! Magazine. Randall graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Mons, Belgium with a degree in classical vocal performance , at the head of his class. However, Randall was already fed up with classical music as he saw a division between performer and audience. He returned to the world of traveling, writing songs in train stations and sleeping on couches, then singing and playing on street corners, cafés, and pubs.
For a time he lived aboard a 20′ sailboat that he bought for $800, teaching himself how to sail by single-handing through the Baltic and North Seas with his guitar sleeping in the berth beside him at night. He wrote a book about the trip, which begins with the story of almost getting squashed by a tanker before dawn one morning in the North Sea.
In January of 2008, he produced his latest CD, “Praying For Land”, the same year he was voted “Most Wanted to Return” at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. His newest musical adventure is a song cycle based on “Einstein’s Dreams,” after the national bestseller by MIT physicist and poet Alan Lightman. His book contained thirty sketches of what Einstein might have dreamed in the months leading up to his discovery of the theory of relativity, and Randall has now turned those sketches into song.
“In ‘Praying for Land’ we can feel Randall’s bold heart calling us all to follow our dreams.”
-David Wilcox
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In over a decade of performing his music around the country, Kevin So has earned the respect of fellow musicians (Keb' Mo', Amos Lee), won over members of press and radio, and has built a loyal fan base across the United States.
Born and raised in Boston, So channeled his early passion for singing into the start of a career in music with his appearance on the nationally broadcast Fox TV show "Big Break" hosted by Natalie Cole. In 1994, So toured the country in a cover band that would later see some of its members moving on to Britney Spears' band. It was during that period when Kevin spent a considerable amount of time listening to the early recordings of Bob Dylan.
By 1995, So quit the cover band and was a regular on the open-mic folk scene in Cambridge. So moved to Chicago in 1999, booked his own gigs, performing shows in the Midwest and elsewhere. Busking in Austin the following year, Kevin
was "discovered" by The Agency Group. Subsequently, he opened for Joe Cocker, Billy Bragg, Randy Newman and Robben Ford. Following the sudden passing of his father, So moved back to Boston in 2001. Soon thereafter, he released the controversial “That Oriental Guy” in the midst of a hectic tour schedule.
The day after September 11, 2001, Kevin connected with Grammy award winning bluesman Keb' Mo' and co-wrote "Talk," which Keb' would eventually record. So continued touring in 2002, becoming a favorite amongst dozens of Asian American organizations across the US. The double-disc Leaving “The Lights On” appeared to an avalanche of praise in
2003. With 2 other full length CDs under his belt So continues to tour the country at a vigorous clip. In 2007 Kevin was proud recipient of the New York Fringe Festival Award (Best Music & Lyrics) for his current work-in-progress “Great Wall” – a musical production based on his life and times.
“An original talent and tremendous performer”
–Billy Bragg
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