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Community Calendar

The Wailin' Jennys w/ Red Heart the Ticker

Twilight Music presents an evening of folk, folk/rock and roots music with Canada’s The Wailin’ Jennys and Vermont’s Red Heart The Ticker. The Wailin’ Jennys - Ruth Moody (vocals, guitar, accordion, banjo, bodhran), Nicky Mehta (vocals, guitar, harmonica, drums, ukulele) and Heather Masse (vocals, upright bass) – are known throughout North America, Europe and Australia for their powerful vocals and intuitive, ethereal harmonies, engaging stage presence, artful musical arrangements and instrumental prowess. With three extraordinary voices, two founding singer-songwriters and one singular vision, The Wailin' Jennys continue to evolve into far more than the melodious sum of their individual talents. Soprano Ruth Moody, former lead singer of the Juno Award-nominated roots act, Scrüj MacDuhk, is a classically trained vocalist and pianist who first came on the scene as an accomplished, versatile singer of traditional and Celtic music. Mezzo Nicky Mehta, who was nominated for a Canadian Music Award for her 2002 solo album, Weather Vane, is a trained dancer raised on everything from rock to classical music and heavily influenced by alternative pop. Alto Heather Masse comes steeped in both bluegrass and jazz traditions. She is a Jazz Voice graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and has also performed with the Wayfaring Strangers, Joy Kills Sorrow and Heather & The Barbarians. Together they forge a unified folk-pop sound—all delivered with the irresistible vocal power of three. Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody, and Cara Luft formed The Wailin’ Jennys in 2002, after performing together at a guitar shop in their hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Cara Luft left the band to return to her solo career, and was replaced by Montreal songwriter, Annabelle Chvostek, who recorded and toured with The Jennys for two years before Brooklyn-based Heather Masse joined the band. In 2004, The Wailin’ Jennys’ released their first full-length album, 40 Days, to great critical acclaim, and were awarded the 2005 Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year. Bolstered by their frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor’s public radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, The Jennys exploded onto the international roots music scene, performing at packed venues across North America and throughout the world. Their next CD, Firecracker, was a powerful follow-up that found The Jennys stepping out of the folk realm and into the world of alt-country, pop and rock. Garnering much attention, it was nominated for a Juno Award and won a 2007 Folk Alliance Award for Contemporary Release of the Year. It charted for over 56 weeks on the Billboard charts and established The Jennys as the premiere act on today’s folk/roots scene. The Jennys new CD, Live at Mauch Chunk Opera House, captures the magic of their live performances, with show-stopping harmonies and dynamic instrumental solos from all three Jennys and their sideman Jeremy Penner (violin, mandolin), a multi-instrumentalist recognized worldwide for his first-class jazz and bluegrass improvisational style. It has charted in the top ten on the Billboard charts since its 2009 release and has earned them continued critical praise. “The three-part harmonies of Winnipeg’s Wailin’ Jennys should be considered some kind of national treasure.” - The Hamilton Spectator “Such a gorgeous blend of harmony and great songs... Love the Jennys!” - Bonnie Raitt “Like Gillian Welch or Alison Krauss, they can make new songs feel traditional and old songs sound brand new.” - All Music Guide Red Heart the Ticker is the musical collaboration of Robin MacArthur and Tyler Gibbons, a husband and wife duo from Marlboro, Vermont. Their atmospheric and image rich music, often compared to Will Oldham, Gillian Welch and Iron and Wine, is, in many ways, a reconciliation between their verging musical tastes: Robin’s penchant for tradition influenced sixties folk and twangy, old-fashioned country music, and Tyler’s love of jazz fusion and esoteric sixties rock. In April of 2009, they performed on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Tickets for this concert are $20 Advance / $25 At the Door. Advance Tickets are available in Brattleboro at Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery (139 Main Street), In The Moment Records (143 Main Street), Turn It Up (2 Elliot Street) and Maple Leaf Music Company (23 Elliot Street), and in Putney at JD McCliments Pub (26 Bellows Falls Road) or online at www.brattleborotix.com or by mail by sending a check to Twilight Music P.O. Box 43 Putney, VT 05346. For more information, visit www.thewailinjennys.com and rhtt.net.