the guthrie experience

We call it folk music, but since I was little, I've been calling it 'heart music': lyrics and rhythms that keeps your heart warm company on a cold lonely night. The show is Arlo Guthrie, playing in the Guthrie Center, and Saturday, October 3rd is none other than a full-on Guthrie experience. Staying in sweet harmony with what his music seems to represent, The Guthrie Center was a church that in 1991 he converted into a music venue/spiritual place that welcomes folk and folks of all beliefs. It's a gem, to say the least.

The whole family is on stage singing their big and little hearts out. More than worth noting is Arlo's daughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, who has a voice and face that is full of grace;her aura has the power to ease all of your troubles with the drop of a word. And her husband musical collaborator of ten years, Johnny Irion, is no shadow. They are touring all year long, and are very much worth checking out.

When family man, Arlo Guthrie, gets on stage, there is a sort of calm that washes over you because in some way, it isn't just the group on stage that are his family, but every one of us in the audience too. He closes with "This Land is Your Land", a song his father, Woody Guthrie, was famous for: and the experience of this magical place and Arlo's moving music and energy are constant reminders that his father had truly stumbled onto a spectacular notion: 'this land was made for you and me.'

copyright beIMAGED photography 2009. all rights reserved.

good sound abound

An "underground" band very much worth checking out is New York City's Left on Red. To stumble upon them feels like a gift: for me, they were a sweet surprise on Sept. 3rd after Tori Sparks enraptured us with her powerful chords. The band features cute and humble girls with incredibly unique music, that say with friendly smiles that they make their money playing in subway stations. Each song transports you to unfamiliar territory where the music is good and the drinks crisp. One second you are at a Parisian cafe, the next you're swept away, off to a sultry Spanish night club. Words can't even begin to fully describe the experience of seeing Left on Red live, but I'll try: ephemral, fun, freeing, happy, uplifting, real, provoking, one of a kind. Best put, their music embodies the moment in time when you are stuck at a red light at 3 AM in the middle of nowhere, with your left turn signal monotonously blinking, and you decide to slowly let your foot lift off from the brake, because sometimes life is just a little bit more fun if you don't follow the rules.

sparks ignite at the very bitter end

Miss Tori Sparks sends me on a trip with her deep and powerful voice and lyrics on September 3rd, at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. She's a little bit of country, a little bit of folk, and a lot bit of soul. There's pain behind her songs, but optimism in her demeanor - and she carries the two with nothing short of grace. In between songs about confusion and loss, she drinks her gin and tonic and gives the crowd a wide grin while casually chatting about all of the characters she's met along her travels - as if to say that yeah this world might be messed up, but it's ok: we're all special. After belting out one of her gem songs "Tall Towers", off of her new album, "The Scorpion in the Story", she gives a giggle and sigh because it takes her back to the character that inspired the words. For her, the music is not just about her personal journey and experience, but everyone else's as well.

With an insightful connection to the world around her, a voice as deep as a canyon, three full albums and one EP under her belt, and a Tennessee charm that is nearly impossible to resist, this country gal has got something truly magical to offer to the world.

Just hearing about Tori for the first time? Check out her website at torisparks.com, and I beg you to tune into my own personal favorite album of hers: 2007's "Under This Yellow Sun". And check out her upcoming tour dates - she might just be headed towards you!

Photography by Melissa Lynn of beIMAGED Photography.