Time certainly has its way with each of us, our living paths yanking left and right, serving up dips and jumps, and an occasional stone wall to bring an abrupt and bruising halt our little planned journeys. The meanest disaster to impede the community of performing songwriters was of course the 2020 pandemic, as it rendered impossible, for a long time, the juncture of singers to their flesh-and-bone audiences.
The typical success rate of aspiring musical poets is meager enough on average, and many an earnest troubadour has later discovered another career endeavor that seemed better suited to their circumstances. So it is with our artists of this week, and in every Moonlight episode we bring you— a cursory Google search will show recent and ongoing efforts by those most determined, while for others, their tracks in the snow faded out some while back.
Our little venue showcased the brave decision of anyone gutsy enough to put themselves, open and vulnerable, in front of a focused audience for even three minutes, a choice by which they earned indisputable credit— for a one-off leap. or a lifetime of gettin’ better at it. The foundation of Moonlight’s mission was their bravery, and we salute every one of ‘em for it.
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February 9, 2011
Friends of The Moonlight---
Moonlight's looking ahead to a very busy month of March, with several performers on the schedule that we are especially proud to bring to you-- BUT, there's no need to wait until then to discover new favorites.... Every week we present someone you've never seen before, to keep your life fresh, interesting, and ahead of the curve. Consider these next two events--->
Thursday the 10th--- LEE ANNA CULP, and JON VOGEL, $12
Okay, you may well HAVE heard these two, they are both Birmingham-based, and they're delighted to be playing a stage that allows them to bring on their hand-crafted best--- Lee Anna showed her perky/quirky chops when she opened here for Edie Carey in November, and proved to be as much unpredictable fun as we suspected. She's more serious about developing her career as a performing songwriter, having started in earnest with a peachy little EP she created five years ago with her producer and collaborator Ryan Swift--- a partnership that resulted in a debut for her full album "Bells and Doves" last year at Workplay.
She'll share the show tonight with Jon Vogel, another hard-working area musician, who doesn't have a whole lot of promo claptrap on his websites-- mostly just some clean and earnest samples of his purely-Southern folk-rock originals, featuring a posse of his pals hand-picked for their vocal and instrumental help. Familiar flavors of country and rock tell us Jon knows his Alabama audience, and we're sure he'll keep his set chugging along with confidence. 7:30pm
www.myspace.com/leeannaloves
www.myspace.com/jonvogelmusic
Lee Anna Culp, February 10 2011, 26 present
Jon Vogel, February 10 2011
Friday the 11th--- DYLAN SNEED, and BEN GLOVER, $12
You'll have to ask his parents about that first name, but the good money has it that there's Saint Bob's influence in this native Texan's early musical exposure... Dylan Sneed picked an uncommon migratory path just last year with his move to South Carolina, where he gathered five gifted friends in an old farmhouse and cooked up a 14-track album he calls "Texodus"--- which has earned him unanimous approval from them what writes about such things in the ever-jaded music press. Better than that is the widening circle of other players who now would like to have his contributions to their own records... looks like he passed the audition.
Among so many other things, Ben Glover is a law graduate from Co. Antrim--- that's Ireland, folks, where he somehow spent years earning acclaim and comparison to the most revered of stateside roots/folk icons. Reviewers make unashamed references to Springsteen, Ryan Adams, and David Gray, in describing the shuffling Celtic Americana so ably offered on his two latest releases. More impressive to us is the world tour he did last fall with Mary Gautier, and her whole-hearted collusion with him on the songs they co-wrote before setting out together. Now working out of Nashville, Glover nonetheless holds international standing as one of the strongest new voices of the genre. 7:30pm
www.dylansneed.com
www.myspace.com/benglovermusic
Dylan Sneed, February 11 2011, 36 present
Ben Glover, February 11 2011
Saturday the 12th-- PRIVATE EVENT
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COME OUT FOR NEXT WEEK'S HIGH-ENERGY SHOWS---
Thursday 17th-- TO LIGHT A FIRE, AEREOPHONICS ATLAS, payback for the young rockers who did us a benefit in December--- jumpin'!
Friday 18th-- AMELIA WHITE, and JON BYRD, folk-rock alt-country, Stratocasters all around--- but it still fits in the house
Saturday 19th-- MICHELLE MALONE, rangy, rambunctious, sexy, and soulful-- folk-funk blues and blasters, callin' out the ladies!
Sunday 20th-- MONTANA SKIES, amazing neo-classical duo returns--- searing electric cello, hat-spinning fortissimo guitar--- wake up!
Monday 21st-- SETH GLIER Judges Our Open Mike--- New Folk's wonder boy drops in for a short set, and hands out points to our contestants
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I want to try and find some of Dylan Sneed’s music. . I hope I am able to purchase that recording done in a barn,it sounds like it might be wonderful. This idea of yours to post the old Moonlight newsletters seems to be a good idea. I didn’t realize I would read it and maybe find some new music.