50 Never Looked So Good

On Friday, May 13, 2016 Chestnut House Concerts will host our 50th show.  In 2012 when we started, we held 7 house concerts and each year after the frequency increased.

People have asked us who our favorite musicians have been, and we cannot answer since there have simply been too many amazing artists that have walked through our doors. We’ve had primarily roots/bluegrass bands here, but some exceptions include Baskery, The Stacks (Tania Elizabeth / Andy Stack) , Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings, and our most recent show with Pierre Bensusan. Most bands are traveling through on tours but we’ve been lucky enough to have local musicians like Jake Lewis and the Clergy and The Stray Birds.euroamericana-2016

 

On Friday we reach show #50 by adding Kelley McRae to our list.. Her most recent album The Wayside debuts at No. 7 on the EuroAmericana charts, and below is a link to the video of Rare Bird from this album.

 

 

http://nodepression.com/video/premiere-kelley-mcrae-rare-bird

We hope you can attend the show on Friday and celebrate our 50th show with us. To RSVP contact Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or send a text to 717-940-9311.  The suggested donation is $15-20 and all money goes to the musicians. We have a potluck at 6 and music starts at 7.  There will be some opening songs by Those Sensible Shoes from NYC.

 

 

From Paris to Lancaster ~ Pierre Bensusan, the Bridge Builder

 

US map

Tim arrived in Lancaster with an iPod full of music and a U-Haul full of wine. It took me much longer to review the inventory of the music than it did the wine.  I scrolled through artist after artist and when I got to Pierre Bensusan and discovered multiple recordings and over 50 songs I asked “Tell me why you love Pierre Bensusan?”, as I had never experienced his music. Tim replied that he first saw French-Algerian guitarist Pierre Bensusan play in the mid 70’s in Portland and Pierre give an interactive live show, engaging with his audience. Tim describes Pierre’s music as incredibly focused and while Tim is not by any means a judge of technical skill on the guitar, he notes that any audience member will recognize that Pierre is playing extremely complicated music and can make his one guitar sound like a multitude of instruments.

Photo by TINA KORHONEN/ www.tina-k.com © 2011

Photo by TINA KORHONEN/ http://www.tina-k.com © 2011

Like all music venues,  Chestnut House Concerts receives multiple booking requests from both agents and artists. When we received a request for Pierre to play at Chestnut House Concerts we imagined that it was an error as his fame allows him to fill huge concert halls.  It’s no mistake.  Pierre Bensusan will be performing at Chestnut House Concerts on Friday, April 29, 2016.  Potluck at 6 pm, Music at 7 pm.

All guests must RSVP through Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or by calling/texting 717-940-9311.  Please let us know how many seats to reserve. Everyone pays by donation, suggested amounts of $15/20 per person.

“Bensusan, the bridge builder”
Don O’Mahony, The Irish Examiner (Ireland)

“Bensusan’s remarkable technical ability has never been in question, but it’s the sheer musicality and lyricism of his body of work that has cemented his position as one of the most accomplished acoustic guitarists on the planet. Altiplanos, with its combination of solo, multitracked and ensemble pieces, simply reaffirms and builds upon Bensusan’s already stellar reputation.”
John Kelman, Allaboutjazz.com (USA)

“Spellbinding….Bensusan the composer challenges Bensusan the guitarist displaying a reach never before attempted by a solo guitarist…and succeeds in creating a masterpiece, destined to be at the top of any short list of the great solo guitar albums of this or any millenium! Far beyond technical brilliance, this is the work of a mature artist that run the gambit from heartbreakingly romantic to edgy and dangerously exciting.”
James Jensen/AcousticMusicResources.com