Noted musician Freebo will swap songs with emerging artist Alice Howe during the monthly Hard Luck Café series at the Cinema Arts Centre (423 Park Ave. in Huntington) on Thursday, May 17.
The 8:30 p.m. concert in the Cinema’s Sky Room will be preceded by an open mic at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 ($10 for Cinema Arts Centre and Folk Music Society of Huntington members) and will be available at the door.
Freebo, a veteran singer-songwriter and musical sideman who was Bonnie Raitt’s bass player for ten years, was impressed upon first hearing Howe perform during the 2016 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference. After reconnecting with the young, up-and-coming artist a few months later at the 2017 Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, Freebo invited Howe to record a few songs with him in California — and a musical partnership was forged. They have been touring together and backing each other on their respective songs in concert, while Freebo is producing Howe’s forthcoming debut full-length album.
With her soulful, impeccably tuned voice and well-crafted poetic lyrics, Boston area-based singer and songwriter Howe is “at once of the moment and timeless, personal and universal,” writes Mark Walton in Americana UK. Her pure, distilled sound reflects a musical sensibility rooted in 1960s folk and 1970s Southern California songwriters.
Howe’s 2017 EP, You’ve Been Away So Long, features her original song “Homeland Blues,” which debuted at No. 1 on the international Folk DJ top songs chart in April 2017. She participated in last year’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase and has performed at such venerable Northeast venues as Club Passim, Caffè Lena, and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.
After more than 40 years of recording and touring with many of the great artists of our time (Bonnie Raitt, CSN, Maria Muldaur, John Mayall, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, Neil Young, and more), Freebo has come into his own as a singer-songwriter. A multi-award winner and finalist in numerous songwriting contests, he was recognized as the Best Folk Artist 2007 in the Los Angeles Music Awards. He has appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” “The Muppets Show,” “The Midnight Special,” and in concert with the legendary Spinal Tap.
Freebo’s compassionate concern for the world and people around him, as evidenced both in his lyrics and his open stage banter, has helped him connect with listeners worldwide. With “Standing Ovation,” he provides insights about what kind of positive mark we hope to leave on the world upon our own passing. Where you stand with your pets and your partner is explored in “She Loves My Dog More Than Me.”
Now celebrating its 50th year, the Folk Music Society of Huntington presents two monthly concert series, a monthly folk jam, and an annual folk festival in conjunction with the Huntington Arts Council on Sunday, July 29, at Heckscher Park. FMSH’s First Saturday Concerts at the Congregational Church of Huntington in Centerport continue on June 2 with a return performance by acclaimed singer-songwriter James Maddock. For more information, go to www.fmsh.org.
