Rockport’s annual Motif No.1 Day festival on Saturday, May 17th will feature locally and nationally acclaimed musical acts: Louise Mosrie, The Honey Dewdrops, What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?, The LeitMotifs, James and Jake, and Alek Razdan and A-Train Orchestra.
Raised by British parents on a farm in middle Tennessee, Louise Mosrie grew up disliking the slow, sleepy ways of her small rural town. But when she moved to Nashville in 2004 to work on her song-craft, she found that the melodies and imagery that emerged in her writing came straight from the southern culture she once dismissed. Influenced by artists such as Nanci Griffith, Allison Kraus and Lucinda Williams, her songs tell stories of joy, love, struggle and heartbreak through the vivid characters and scenery of southern life.
Louise will be accompanied by Red House recording artist Cliff Eberhardt, who is the producer of her upcoming CD. Cliff was a driving force of the Greenwich Village New Folk movement, and his songs have been covered by the likes of Richie Havens, Buffy St. Marie, Erasure, Lucy Kaplansky and the folk superstar band "Cry, Cry, Cry" (Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky).
The Honey Dewdrops, husband and wife duo Kagey Parrish and Laura Wortman, write timeless songs that sound as if they are part of an old Appalachian songbook. The topics are universal: friends and loved ones, fellow troubadours, the land and its loss to progress. The instrumentation is sparse (guitar, mandolin, and banjo), and the arrangements are basic. The vocal harmonies are glorious. Hailing from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville, Virgina, the Honey Dewdrops appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and gained Folk Radio notoriety with the #1 album “Silver Lining”.
Named after a Victorian children’s game, What Time Is It, Mr. Fox? can time-travel from the woods of Medieval France to a 1930s New Orleans jukejoint. Led by the gender-defying voice of 3rian King, the ensemble delivers their own brand smoky cabaret, neo-soul and acoustic noir, sounding something like Tom Waits and Annie Lennox performing in a French cafe. What Time Is It, Mr. Fox? will be represented on Motif #1 Day by singer-songwriter-guitarist-keyboardist 3rian King and violinist and vocalist Nathan Cohen.
Together in this configuration for their first public appearance, the LeitMotifs are guitarists John Rockwell and Eric Wilson (also sharing vocals),bassist Dimitri Eleftherakis, and fiddler Larry Young.
James Vassallo (born March 1998) and Jake Stavros (born December 1997) are an American rock/pop act working under the moniker “James & Jake”. Discovered in early 2013 by skilled indie award- winning songwriter/producer Brad Byrd, James & Jake recorded their debut EP “Blue” with famed rock producer/mixer Warren Huart (Fray, Aerosmith, Augustana) and Grammy award winning engineer Phil Allen (Adele).
The A-Train Orchestra is a versatile group that performs an eclectic mix of blues, rhythm-and-blues, and swing. The band features 20-year-old Alek Razdan on saxophones and vocals, Dan Whalen on guitar, Rikki Razdan on saxophones, David “Doc” Vincent on drums, and Ken Demaine on bass. From waterfront bars and bistros to corporate functions to family-friendly festivals, the A-Train Orchestra provides an exciting musical experience for listeners of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy.
Motif No.1 Day performance schedule information can be found at www.rockportartfestivals.com
