Session Americana

.On Friday, February 15, the  me&thee will welcome back SessionAmericana. The musicians who make up Session Americana started as a Sunday residency at Toad in Cambridge’s Porter Square where they brainstormed songs and jammed together.  Swapping songs and spinning tales caught on and the band has been touring festivals, winning new fans and awards ever since.  Doors open at 7:30 PM for this 8:00 PM show at the me&thee coffeehouse which is located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford Street.

Session Americana (which consists of a core group of Jim Fitting, Jon Bistline, Billy Beard, Dirty Child and Ry Cavanaugh) is a rock band in a tea cup, or possibly a folk band in a whiskey bottle. This band/collective of talented musicians craft an musical experience unlike any other. On stage is a collapsible bar table wired with microphones, a vintage suitcase recast as a kick drum, an old Estey field organ, a pre-war parlor guitar, a mandocello and all of its smaller siblings, a harmonica case fire damaged when Jack's bar went up in flames and graffitied by Depeche Mode roadies, and an assortment of other instruments that get passed around in this freewheeling modern hootenanny. The anything-could-happen feel of a Session show depends on craft that's not accidental or easily won; they bring a kind of ease and genuineness to this timeless music, sometimes presenting the latest batch of original songs, sometimes reaching back into depths of the American "song bag". SessionAmericana is an absolute must-see, must-hear. Says David Greenberger of NPR:"I'd give them 100 miles. That is to say, if they're playing anywhere within 100 miles of your home, you drive there and are grandly rewarded for your effort."

Their newest album Love and Dirt is a cohesive and a well composed batch of songs, a playfully irreverent take on roots music with an edgy experimental side. The record was tracked by Matt Malikowski and noted producer, engineer, and mixer Paul Q. Kolderie, known for his work with the Pixies, Radiohead, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Throwing Muses, Morphine, and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. An essential part of SessionAmericana is collaboration and spontaneity. Some of the regional and international artists who have "sat at their table" are: Patty Griffin, Kris Delmhorst, Jennifer Kimball, Peter Wolf (J.Geils Band), Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom), Billy Conway (Morphine), Bruno Green (FR), The Henry Girls (ROI), Cahelen Morrison (CAN), Rose Cousins (CAN), Anaïs Mitchell, David Wax Museum, The Watson Twins, Aoife O'Donavan, and many more.

Tickets for the performance by Session Americana are $17 in advance and $20 at the door.  Tickets are available online at www.meanthee.org and can be purchased in person in Marblehead at either the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore or the Arnould Gallery As at all me & thee coffeehouse events, refreshments are available, including homemade pastries, coffee, and teas.  The me & thee has a handicapped-accessible entrance and an accessible bathroom, is a smoke-free environment, and is easily reached by MBTA bus.  The me & thee is the oldest continually running acoustic coffeehouse in New England, and probably the country.   The me & thee has been and will always be a volunteer, non-profit organization sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead.  For information and directions, call 781-631-8987 or check the website www.meandthee.org.