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Slaid Cleaves, who will perform at the Americana Festival
(courtesy photo)
PORTSMOUTH –
The 6th Annual Americana Festival at Prescott Park will
place the spotlight on an eclectic group of performers with a varying degree of
ties to the Granite State. Slaid Cleaves, the Makem & Spain Brothers, the
Hanneke Cassel Trio, and Dan Walker will perform on Saturday, July 14, from 1
to 5 p.m.
Always a favorite of fans and staff alike, the Americana
Festival showcases the broad lines and rousing remedies that run thickly
through the lifeblood of roots-laden music. The festival also coincides with
the Portsmouth Tall Ships, held at the pier adjacent to Prescott Park.
Festival goers will gather in abundance to welcome home
Seacoast staple Slaid Cleaves, who moved from Maine, to Austin, Texas a number
of years ago. His returns are very limited, and performances coveted amongst
the scene. Cleaves, who headlines this year's Americana festival is a
troubadour with serious credentials.
"I'm glad I found Slaid Cleaves, because my life would
have been poorer without him. You'll feel the same, I think, when you listen to
this beautifully crafted album (“Everything You Love will be Taken Away”).
Listen, go to one of Slaid's shows, take a friend, and pass on the news: not
all the good guys wear hats," says Stephen King. The Maine author writes
the liner notes for the album.
And speaking of local favorites: several pieces of the Makem
& Spain Brothers take residence in Dover. Playing acoustic instruments and
singing tales that may be heard sitting 'round the fire, the Makem and Spain
Brothers are continuing on the Celtic folk traditions of their famous
forefathers. Every generation has a few acts that define where a musical genre
is going, performers so confident in their chosen field that they are able to
completely embrace the genre and yet introduce something new to it. In Irish
folk music today, that act is the Makem and Spain Brothers.
Hanneke Cassel captured her 1997 U.S. National Scottish Jr.
Fiddle Championship here in the Granite State and went on to study the
instrument on scholarship at the Berklee College of Music down in Boston. She
is a decorated performer and songwriter with other prestigious credentials
including the 2008 USA Songwriting Contest.
Rounding out the Americana Festival's lineup is one of the
most incendiary and playful singer/songwriter/guitarist's on the Seacoast today
- Dan Walker. Walker's playing is of the highest quality in both musicianship
and entertainment value.
“The Americana Festival lineup is stacked from top to bottom
this year,” says executive director Ben Anderson. “I couldn't be happier with
the way it looks on paper, and I know I'll only add to that happiness when I
see it on our stage. We're all in for a treat.”
All events offered at the Prescott Park Arts Festival are
presented free of charge with a suggested donation of $5 - $10. Audience
members are permitted to bring chairs, or rent those offered by the festival.
For more information on the festival, or to see a full schedule of events,
visit www.prescottpark.org or
call 603-436-2848.
