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May 14, 2024
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Spencertown Academy Presents Mary Gauthier with Special Guest Jaimee Harris, September 26
Spencertown, New York–Spencertown Academy Roots & Shoots Concerts Series presents Grammy-nominated folk singer-songwriter and author Mary Gauthier with special guest Jaimee Harris on Thursday, September 26 at 7:30 pm at the Academy’s Blanche Grubin Auditorium. General admission tickets ($30 public, $25 Academy members) are available via www.spencertownacademy.org.
“I’ve been a fan of Mary’s moving and eloquently crafted songs for a very long time,” says Wayne Greene, who co-chairs the Academy Music Committee with Michele Quigley. “It’s truly a thrill to host her and her partner Jaimee, who is a remarkable singer-songwriter in her own right, in our intimate venue here in Spencertown.”
Gauthier’s discography includes a dozen studio albums and her songs have been covered by artists ranging from Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, and Kathy Mattea to Boy George, Jimmy Buffett, and Bettye Lavette. Her songs often deal with marginalization, informed by her experience of adoption, addiction and recovery, and growing up gay in the deep south. Although rarely in the pop/mainstream spotlight, throughout her career, Gauthier has won widespread acclaim and awards from the Americana Music Association, International Folk Music Awards, the Independent Music Awards, the GLAMA Awards, and the UK Americana Association. Gauthier’s memoir about the art of songwriting, “Saved by a Song” was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2021. She is a regular on the Grand Ole Opry, and currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Her new album, “Dark Enough to See the Stars,” is out now on Thirty Tigers.
NPR Music proclaimed that Texas-born singer-songwriter Harris, who turned 30 during the pandemic, is “poised to become the next queen of Americana-Folk.” Her latest album, “Boomerang Town” is an ambitious song-cycle that explores the generational arc of family, the stranglehold of addiction, and the fragile ties that bind Americans together.
Roots & Shoots Concerts is an ongoing Academy series that showcases artists who reach back to earlier traditions in music (Americana, jazz, blues, rock, and world music) for inspiration while incorporating more recent forms and influences of the present.
This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Founded in 1972, Spencertown Academy Arts Center is a cultural center and community resource serving Columbia County, the Berkshires, and the Capital region. Housed in a landmark 1847 Greek Revival schoolhouse, the Academy is located at 790 State Route 203 in Spencertown, New York. For more information, please contact info@spencertownacademy.org.
Photo credit: Alexa Kinigopoulos
