Acoustic Long Island

This live performance was recorded on May 6, 2015. Tom Griffith and Martha Trachtenberg are Huntington-based singer-songwriters who have not only chronicled the ups and downs of their 31 years together in their music, but also have achieved numerous individual musical successes. Tom is an award-winning singer, songwriter and recovering jingle writer whose jingles have been heard in ads for products such as Miller beer and M&Ms candy. His work has also appeared in several movies, and he has won two Clio awards. Tom’s album 40 Years Later was named the best Long Island CD of 2007 by Newsday. Martha was a founding member of the Buffalo Gals, the first all-woman bluegrass band. She’s appeared in the IBMA Songwriter Showcase three times, and her songs have been recorded by artists such as Toby Walker and Tony Trischka and Skyline. John Platt of WFUV has said that Martha “has a warm heart that infuses her songs with humanity and a supple voice that makes them ring true.” In addition to performing with Tom, Mar

Recorded on April 1, 2015. Jesse has independently sold over 10,000 albums and had his music featured on TV shows such as One Tree Hill, Degrassi, and Teen Mom and toured with some amazing artists including Jewel, KT Tunstall, Matt Simons, Hanson, and Ryan Cabrera. His first self-released 2008 debut, “Aiming for Honesty”, consolidated his growing audience, whom the performer has cultivated with virtually nonstop touring and persistent online networking. The online community played a critical role in his debut album, funding the recordings through a project run by five of Ruben’s friends on Facebook. His latest work, “Thoughts I’ve Never Had Before”, was released last year as two EPs and contain the thoughtful “Carry On” and the anthemic “We Can”, a song that has been embraced by schools around the world & has inspired students to follow their dreams.  For more on Jesse’s music, click here. Click on the arrow below to play a recording of this performance. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg.

Recorded on April 1, 2015. Listening to Jeff LeBlanc’s new album My Own Way There is like driving with the top down.  With Jeff at the wheel, he takes you on a winding road through a varied landscape of songs and stories.  The opening track, This Moment rings like a mission statement for LeBlanc’s journey; the lyric “you’ve come too far to have to turn back now” depicts his unwavering perseverance on the path to achieving something to call his own. Jeff and his Jeep logged over 70,000 miles this past year, encompassing hundreds of theaters, clubs and college campuses, taking him from coast to coast.  Along the way, he’s been called upon to support a diverse array of artists including Gavin DeGraw, Colbie Caillat, Goo Goo Dolls, Ingrid Michaelson, Brett Dennen, Matt Nathanson, Luke Bryan, Lifehouse, Chris Isaak, Parachute and many more.  As a self-managed artist, his continuous grass-roots efforts has built him a dedicated following – a following longing for his third studio album. My Own Way There was r

Recorded on April 1, 2015. After a two month hiatus from nasty winter weather, Dave opens the show with Long Island duo, Billy and Gabi. Find out more at www.billyandgabi.com. Click on the button below to play this performance. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg.

Quarter Horse’s music can be described as Americana with elements of rock, folk, alternative, country, and jazz… all mixed together.  They are known for three part vocal harmonies, tandem lead guitar and improvisation.   They have been playing together in other bands for years but formed Quarter Horse in November 2013.  The band was formed when they started writing new music and they have been going strong since.  They released their first EP, River Flow on October 4th. In addition, they were featured on an acoustic compilation called Around The Town. To find out more about Quarter Horse, click here. Photos courtesy of Scott Goldstein and Howard Greenberg

Raised in Northern California, Margaret Glaspy has brought her indescribable voice to the east coast and New York City couldn’t be happier. A committed student to the music around her, her influences include Oumou Sangare, Feist, Jeff Buckley, and Nina Simone while she’s shared the stage with the likes of Rachael Yamagata, Ricky Skaggs, Tim O’Brien, Jon Scofield, among others. She’s got a sound and a writing style that is undeniable and well beyond her 25 years.  For more on Margaret, go to www.mglaspy.com. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg

A seasoned NYC session player, Andy Stack decided to leave the city he called home for over a decade in favor of the beauty of the Hudson Valley in June 2013. Within 6 months he had written a full album of original Roots/Rock/Americana music with his new band, Buffalo Stack, slated for release in August of 2014. Come hear the music created by the player that the NY Times described as “full of fragile melody and tensile strength”. For more, go to www.buffalostack.com. Photos courtesy of Howard Greenberg.

Micah’s music is a touch of folk mixed with some soul and topped off with a little bit of heartbreak. The last 4 years have brought him coast to coast and back again playing clubs, colleges, living rooms and everything in between. With his strong affinity for bacon and flannel, some have deemed him the Ron Swanson of singer-songwriters. Picture the soulful powerhouse vocals of John Legend behind a guitar with a laid back style like Ray LaMontagne. Micah is a new buzz artist not to be missed. For more, go to www.facebook.com/micahmusic. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg

It was our final concert of 2014 as the mansion waited to get a holiday makeover for various seasonal events in December. The evening was electric with energy which is evident in the three recordings you’ll hear. After giving his thoughts, both good and bad, about the “Concert Window” trend, Dave got the music flowing with native Long Islander, Anthony James Morace. Give a listen and feel the electricity! Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg.

Raised in the small upstate New York town of Monroe, folk rock singer/songwriter Brian Dunne’s music has won the attention and praise of many. With his sharp lyrical prowess and country-influenced vocals, Brian has played in the U.S. folk scene far and wide. Citing influences such as Bob Dylan, The Band, and Bruce Springsteen, one can hear his roots winding through the sound and style of his songwriting and performing. After graduating from the Berklee College of Music in 2011, Brian moved to New York City where he currently resides, and has spent much of the last year supporting his newest release, The Brooklyn Bridge EP, which charted on the US iTunes singer/songwriter charts and received praise from artists such as John Mayer amongst many others. For more, go to www.briandunnemusic.net.

Born and Raised in London, Ontario, Ken Yates moved to Boston to study songwriting at Berklee College of Music. It was there that he developed his skills as a songwriter, releasing his first CD, “The Backseat EP”, and received the opportunity to play a song for one of his biggest influences, John Mayer. Mayer even posted a full page blog about Yates’ ability as a writer stating, “Ken Yates wrote a song called ‘I Don’t Wanna Fall In Love’… this song moved me when I first heard it and still does today”. Yates’ EP received high critical acclaim, leading to a slew of online covers from fans. He has toured with many notable names including veteran singer/songwriter and mentor, Livingston Taylor, Sister Hazel, Peter Katz, and Liz Longley and has songs in heavy rotation on Sirius XM’s The Coffee House where he was nominated for The Coffee House Songwriter Discovery of the Year. For more, go to www.kenyates.com.

Dave opened our October concert with some “funny musical facts” then gave the stage to Long Island’s own Cassandra House. Cassandra’s music has been gaining more attention at local and regional venues and she has recently performed at such notable places as The Boulton Center, Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, The Bitter End and Rockwood Music Hall. Find out more about Cassandra at www.facebook.com/thecasshouse.

Kelli Rae Powell is the tiny ukulele-wielding, redheaded stepchild of Billie Holiday and Johnny Cash. Whether she’s growling out wry ruminations or purring her way through a drinkaby (a lullaby-meets-drinking song of her own device), she delivers the kind of consistently literate lyrics that once prompted Tommy Ramone to call her a poet. The Iowa-bred performer arrived in New York City in 2000, and after making a name for herself in the city’s underground ukulele cabaret scene, released 2006’s “The Scandalous Accounts of My Youth,” and 2009’s “New Words For Old Lullabies” (both on Firecracker Records). She has been listed as a “Rising Star: Folk” in iTunes Essentials, alongside Bon Iver, Joanna Newsom and The Weepies, and New York City’s Deli Magazine wrote that her talents place her at the “tip of the NYC ukulele solo singer songwriter movement.” Powell’s forthcoming CD, “Live At Jalopy,” produced by Terry Radigan and recorded at Jalopy Theatre and School of Music in Red Hook, Brooklyn, showcases a confident

Will Evans has spent the last decade as the primary song writer, and drummer/ front man of the roots rock outfit Barefoot Truth. Four full length albums and several EP’s were recorded with Barefoot Truth, including their latest release “Carry Us On” which debuted at #10 on the Itunes rock chart. Recently Barefoot Truth has decided to take an extended hiatus, which has led Will to a new chapter in his musical journey. Will’s solo project gives him an empty canvas to explore and create a new sound to share with anyone willing to lend an ear. Influences are drawn from a diverse selection of musical genres including hip hop, pop and folk rock artists such as John Butler, Lauren Hill, John Mayer, Bernhoft, and Ray Lamontagne to name a few. For more, go to www.willevans.com.

SEE is a singer/songwriter from New York. Having been heavily influenced by music throughout her childhood, SEE began to play the drums at age 13. In 2011 SEE took her music to the streets when she became the primary songwriter/drummer for a successful Alternative/Indie Rock band on Long Island. From 2011-2013, SEE acquired valuable skills in professional studio recording and video production. The band experience also provided SEE with a substantial amount of live performance opportunities including features on cable TV and FM radio broadcasts to playing live gigs in a variety of bars, colleges, and music venues throughout New York – including the legendary Bitter End in Greenwich Village, NYC. In early 2013 SEE first discovered her voice. Coupled with her strong song writing skills, it presented her with a fierce and undeniable skill set as a musician that ultimately gave birth to her solo career. SEE showcased her talents as vocalist, songwriter and solo performer, with the release of her original debut sin

Jesse Terry is an internationally touring, award-winning singer-songwriter whose transcendent life and music make him one of the most prolific indie artists today; his intimacy with audiences, sincerity, and approachability solidifying him as a favorite at nationwide live venues, festivals and concert series. With three full-length albums, The Runner, Empty Seat On A Plane, and Stay Here With Me, this salt of the earth musician’s lyrical mastery, emotional depth, and soothing voice have often been compared to the likes of Ryan Adams, Jackson Browne, Josh Ritter, and James Taylor, reaching deep into listeners’ hearts to envelope them in shared joy, sadness, love, and unrelenting hope. The Grand Prize winner of The John Lennon Songwriting Contest and The CMT/NSAI Song Contest, he has garnered worldwide acclaim including the elite honor of performing for US and NATO troops stationed at Thule Air Base in Greenland, and an official endorsement by Stonebridge Guitars International. His original sound continually ga

In the short time since her graduation from Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music, singer-songwriter Liz Longley has assembled an impressive resume. While best known for her stop-you-in-your-tracks voice, Liz has steadily developed a reputation as an accomplished songwriter, crafting intimately personal portraits through her music. In the past two years, Liz has taken home top prizes at some of the most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country, including the BMI John Lennon Songwriting Scholarship Competition, the International Acoustic Music Awards and the Rocky Mountain Folk Fest Songwriting Competition. New England named her the 2011 Female Performer of the Year, the Washington Post declared that Liz is “destined for a larger audience” and Dig Boston called her “a rising acoustic sensation.” Even John Mayer is a fan, calling her music “gorgeous, simply gorgeous.” Most recently, Liz’s music has taken center stage on a national level with numero

With a quartet of distinct voices clustered around a single microphone, Darlingside effortlessly draw audiences into their lush, dynamic musical world. The band’s sound, characterized by classical strings, tight vocal arrangements, bluegrass and rock instrumentation, and smart lyricism, is the product of complete collaboration among the four close friends. The group has no frontman; instead, lead vocals are traded from moment to moment, and each song features a new combination of instruments and textures, pulling heavily from folk, retro-pop, barbershop, and chamber music. Dave (bassist and former street musician), Don (guitarist, banjoist, and former boy alto), Auyon (classical violinist who studied mandolin in Ireland and Brazil) and Harris (classical cellist and guitarist) met and sang together as students at Williams College. Together, they are “a powerhouse of vocal, instrumental, and performing talent,” and their expansive sound is “aston­ish­ingly more con­gru­ent than the sum of its parts.” Darlingsid

Heather Maloney, out in March on Signature Sounds, is the third album for a songwriter hailed by The Huffington Post for “lyrics that cut to the chase.” DigBoston wrote that she “deserves the type of cult following that has allowed the likes of Aimee Mann and Ani DiFranco that long standing success and influence they have had.” Although Maloney’s influences are largely rooted in what she calls “adventurous folk,” she pushes outward on these 11 songs, digging deeper, and roaming wider, than she has before on songs populated by vivid characters that ultimately trace their way back to her. She uses juicy touches of pop, and a little dash of rock ’n’ roll on “Iron Bull,” a song she wrote after visiting Zucotti Park during, Occupy Wall Street. “It’s become more multi-dimensional,” she says, a change she credits to the way she approached Heather Maloney. She mostly performed by herself in concert when she made her first two albums, so the recorded songs didn’t sound the way they did when she played them live. This

To kick things off, Dave shares a dog story with the audience. Then, with the Summer Concert quickly approaching, he tries to build enthusiasm for the event in his own unique way. Finally, to round things out, Crazy Beans co-owner, Tim Martino is punked into getting up on stage, only to find out that it was a birthday surprise.