An evening of traditional songs from Newfoundland and New England

Keith Murphy comes to our CLICK Music series with a concert showcasing material from his newest release, Suffer No Loss. The program includes a mix of songs and ballads from his native Newfoundland as well as New England, his adopted home these last 20 years or so.

In particular, Murphy has revisited some of the most well-known, classic Newfoundland folk songs, songs he grew up with and now reinterprets after years of musical traveling. With simple yet elegant arrangements of traditional songs pared down to just voice and guitar, Murphy brings the focus back to the beauty of these texts. He creates a rich palette of textures using multiple open tunings and rhythmic ideas on the guitar, while also bringing in influences from French Canada, which has long been part of his musical profile. The addition of his mandolin, foot percussion and chorus songs make for a well rounded evening of music for lovers of traditional song.

ABOUT KEITH MURPHY:

Keith was a founding member of Nightingale, a trio which broke new ground in its sophisticated approach to traditional music. He is a mainstay of the Boston fiddle extravaganza, Childsplay, and has also worked extensively with Tony Barrand on the song repertoire from the early twentieth century of the Atwood family from Dover, Vermont. He also appears frequently with his wife, fiddler Becky Tracy.

Keith is an accomplished composer and arranger in the realm of traditional music and has also composed for theater and film. He is a featured performer on well over a dozen recordings and a guest musician on numerous others. His versions of traditional songs have inspired recordings by other groups including Solas, Uncle Earl, and Great Big Sea. Several of his compositions have been featured on the recent Ken Burns’ documentary on the Roosevelts.

Keith is a faculty member of the Brattleboro Music Center (BMC)  and the artistic director of the BMC’s Northern Roots Traditional Music Festival in Brattleboro Vermont which he founded in 2008. He is also the music director for the annual WGBH St. Patrick’s Celtic Sojourn shows around Boston, and was a featured performer in the 2016 Boston Revels production of the Acadian - Cajun Christmas show.

Tickets are $12 in advance through Eventbrite. Online sales end October 26th at 5pm, after which any remaining tickets will be available at the door for $15. Service fees apply.

Sponsored by:

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Northampton Arts Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

We are grateful to the Helen Blatz of Edward Jones for her support of our 2017-2018 Season.

Sound equipment generously sponsored by Downtown Sounds.

We are grateful to the Law Office of Peter Irvine for its support of our 2017-2018 Season.