![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Session Americana | |
---|---|
![]() Session Americana with Laura Cortese in 2017 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
Genres | Americana, folk, roots music, rock, blues |
Years active | 2004–present |
Labels | Hi-n-Dry |
Members | Dinty Child Jim Fitting Billy Beard Ry Cavanaugh Kimon Kirk Jefferson Hamer |
Website | www.sessionamericana.com |
Session Americana is a Boston-based Folk/Rock band/collective.
This six-member group of musicians came together in 2004 for informal shows at Toad (a pub in Cambridge) on Sunday nights, with Sean Staples (mandolin, guitar, vocals), [1] Jim Fitting (harmonica, vocals), Ry Cavanaugh (multi instruments, vocals), Billy Beard (drums, vocals), Kimon Kirk (bass) and Dinty Child (multi instruments, vocals). [2] Kirk moved to Los Angeles in early 2009 to play with, among others, Aimee Mann and Grant Lee Phillips, and was replaced by Jon Bistline. Kirk continued to be the primary touring bass player and eventually returned to the band full-time when Bistline decided to devote more time to his day job. Session Americana had a Sunday night residency at Toad for two years, moving to the larger Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA when their popularity outgrew Toad’s small capacity. The name "Session Americana" (the bartenders wrote it on the sandwich board outside of Toad on Sunday nights) went with them even though by this point they were evolving into more of a "band". Even though they have steadily played larger stages to more people, they've tried to hold onto the things that make them unique and their shows continue to involve the band facing each other around a table with a single mic in the middle, passing instruments around as needed, harmonizing on old blues tunes, classic Americana songs, oddball covers, and primarily original numbers written by the group members and their friends. A hallmark of Session Americana is their frequent collaboration on-stage with musical guests, including Rose Polenzani (with whom SA recorded “When the River Meets the Sea” in 2008), Jennifer Kimball (who is married to Cavanaugh), Dennis Brennan, Peter Wolf, Patty Griffin, Rachael Price, Aoife O'Donovan, and many more.
The band released four albums and continued their Lizard Lounge residency until slowing down concert appearances in late 2009 following Cavanaugh and Kimball’s move to Ireland for 2009-2010. [3] They reunited for a concert in October 2009 at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA, alongside Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz, and again for a tour in Ireland in May 2010. On Kimball and Cavanaugh's return to Boston, the band started playing again regularly and have been back to Europe every year since, spending a total of seven weeks there in 2015. In 2015 they also outgrew the Lizard Lounge and started selling out venues like the Oberon Theater in Harvard Square as well as doing more extensive touring nationwide and playing festivals all over the country and in Europe.
From the fall of 2010 the band worked without Sean Staples, who suffered a voice injury, and for five years evolved into more of a collective. Jefferson Hamer, Laura Cortese, Duke Levine, Jimmy Ryan (musician), Adam Moss, Alec Spiegelman, and Jason Anick have all been in "seat 6" since then, with Laura, Adam, and Jefferson doing the bulk of the gigs. January 2016 marked another turning point when Jefferson and the band wrote and recorded a new album Great Shakes in Kimon's house using Jefferson's engineering skills and an extensive collection of gear. It was the first SA album completely conceived as a six-piece band and Jefferson has been playing almost all the shows since then.
William Richard Frisell is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant in the Downtown Scene in New York City, where he formed a long working relationship with composer and saxophonist John Zorn. He was also a longtime member of veteran drummer Paul Motian's groups from the early 1980s until Motian's death in 2011. Since the late 1990s, Frisell's output as a bandleader has also integrated prominent elements of folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and Americana. He has six Grammy nominations and one win.
The Jesus Lizard is an American rock noise band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in recording engineer Steve Albini and Touch and Go Records. With the addition of drummer Mac McNeilly, they began performing live, eventually attracting an international audience with their powerful live show.
Patricia Jean Griffin is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs have been covered by numerous musicians, including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, Kelly Clarkson, Rory Block, Dave Hause, Sugarland, Bette Midler and The Chicks.
ATO Records is an American independent record label based in New York City. The label was established in 2000 by Dave Matthews and manager Coran Capshaw.
Face to Face was an American new wave quintet from Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Jennifer Kimball is a singer and songwriter who formed the folk duo The Story with Jonatha Brooke.
"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" is a song recorded by American blues musician Blind Lemon Jefferson in two slightly differing versions in October 1927 and February 1928, that became "one of his most famous compositions". Son House used the melody on his 1930 recording of "Mississippi County Farm Blues".
James Jeffrey Weider is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the Band. He joined the reformed version of the Band in 1985 to replace original guitarist Robbie Robertson.
The Greencards are an American progressive bluegrass band that formed in 2003 in Austin, Texas, and relocated in 2005 to Nashville, Tennessee. The band was founded by Englishman Eamon McLoughlin and Australians Kym Warner and Carol Young. The musicians originally performed in local Austin bars, and soon found increasing acclaim. They released one independent album, Movin' On, in 2003, and two albums, Weather and Water and Viridian, on the Dualtone record label. Their fourth album, Fascination, was released on Sugar Hill in 2009. Their fifth album, The Brick Album (2011), was self-produced with the direct support of their fans. Pre-production donors were recognized with their names inscribed on the "bricks" that make up the cover art.
"Hold the Line" is a song by American rock band Toto from their 1978 eponymous debut studio album. Written by the band's keyboardist David Paich, the lead vocals on the song were performed by Bobby Kimball.
Jimmy Cary Haun is an American guitarist and composer, known for his work with the bands Yes, Air Supply, and Circa.
O’Death is an American gothic country band from Brooklyn, New York. They combine elements of folk, bluegrass, punk, metal, gothic and Americana music.
Rosanne Millicent "Rose" Cousins is a Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Prince Edward Island, she is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
H.U.M.A.N.W.I.N.E. is an American Vermont-based band with early roots in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 2002 by Holly Brewer and Matthew McNiss, HUMANWINE has had a long history of rotating lineups of supporting musicians. In recent years, the band has primarily performed and recorded as a duo, as heard on their 2016 four-volume release "aether".
The Lizard Lounge is a nightclub situated in between Harvard Square and Porter Square on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is below the restaurant Cambridge Common. It may be a small basement bar, but it is known for the musicians it hosts. The owners also own Cambridge Common and Toad – another live music venue. They carry a large selection of beers, including many local ones such as those made at Cambridge Brewing Company.
The Henry Girls are an Irish folk and roots music group. The band consists of three sisters: Karen, Lorna and Joleen McLaughlin. All three have studied music at university level and are multi-instrumentalist, utilizing fiddles, ukulele, banjo, guitar, harp, mandolin, piano, and accordion. The Henry Girls often sing in harmony and their sound has been described as a mix of traditional Irish folk music and Americana. They have contributed backup vocals to Mary Black's album Stories from the Steeples. They have also collaborated with Session Americana, Dónal Lunny, Moya Brennan, Jennifer Kimball, and The Fox Hunt.
Brittany Amber Howard is an American musician from Athens, Alabama. Currently a solo artist, she rose to prominence in the early 2010s for being the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary songwriter of Alabama Shakes. Her work with Alabama Shakes garnered her four Grammy Awards from nine nominations. Later in the decade, Howard played bass in the side project Thunderbitch as well as both acoustic guitar and double bass for the trio Bermuda Triangle.
Parker Yancey McCollum is an American country singer-songwriter based in Texas. The owner of PYM Music, he released his first single and EP in 2013; his debut album The Limestone Kid was released on February 24, 2015. The Austin Chronicle gave the release 3.5/5 stars, writing that "it's too early to declare The Limestone Kid debut of the year, but it's already one to beat", and comparing McCollum's music to Charlie Robison's. McCollum and his backing band announced a 2015 tour of Texas in support of the album, performing at events such as RedGorilla Music Fest. McCollum released the EP Probably Wrong: Session One on July 7, 2017, and followed it with Probably Wrong: Session Two on September 8, 2017. The full Probably Wrong album was released on November 10, 2017. His major-label debut album Gold Chain Cowboy was released July 30, 2021.
The Grownup Noise is an American indie-folk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, that was formed in 2005 by songwriter / guitarist Paul Hansen and bassist Adam Sankowski. Known for their songwriting and attempts to bridge the gap between Americana and indie music, their music has been difficult to define. The A.V. Club wrote in August 2009 that “The Grownup Noise’s best asset however, is the songwriting, with lines of love and the changing seasons coming out as gently and colorful as the music itself." People often ask about the meaning of the name. The band views "The Grownup Noise" as something to rebel against, like fear, complacency, the closing of your heart, the stress of money etc.
Laurie Sargent is best known as a songwriter and vocalist in the 1980s and 1990s. She was active in the city of Boston. Around 2008, she and her long-term partner, drummer Billy Conway, moved to Montana, where they began raising food on an organic farm. Sargent occasionally visits various cities to perform.