House Concert – Anna & Elizabeth, Nov 14

ae

“If you’ve never thought your tastes would lean to mountain music, take a deep breath and soak it all in.” – NPR Music

Inspired by the richness and tradition of Appalachian music, Anna & Elizabeth gather songs and stories from archives and visits with elders. They bring these songs to life in performance with sparse, atmospheric arrangements behind the uncanny blend of their voices in close harmony. Fiddle and banjo lines intertwine in an age-old dance, and Elizabeth’s powerful vocals are matched by Anna’s softer timbre in their remarkably rich harmonizing.

If you’d like to reserve a seat ahead of time, you can do so by paying the full donation in advance via PayPal below!

****Advance seat reservations have closed. Please pay at the door. See you there!****

Anna & Elizabeth accompany their songs with stories—of the lyrics, of the singer, of the quest to learn the song—and they illustrate them in mesmerizing fashion. The two revive the old scrolling picture show, dubbed “crankies”—intricate picture-scrolls illustrating the old songs they sing, which they create in tandem with papercuts, shadow puppets, prints, and embroidered fabric.

Anna & Elizabeth met in 2011, and their work has brought them to stages across the world and have been featured on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series, Vice’s Noisey, the Huffington Post, and No Depression.

“Everything serves the voice and the story,” Anna explains. “We try to be direct storytellers—to express these songs in a way that people of today can feel connected to. We aren’t trying to transport people to the past—rather we are trying to bring the past back into the room, bring history into our understanding of the present.”

As Elizabeth says, “The song will always travel far from the source. But we remember.”

ELIZABETH LAPRELLE is a student of elder singers and is considered the foremost young Appalachian ballad singer today, and she’s heir to the kind of singing that made Ralph Stanley such an iconic figure. The old technique of Appalachian vocalizing was designed, in an age before amplification, to cut through crowds, to cut across a crowded dance floor, to nearly cut through bone.

ANNA ROBERTS-GEVALT has a beautifully burnished voice that softens the hard edge of Laprelle’s singing.. A master fiddler, guitarist, and banjo player, Roberts-Gevalt is an innovative folklorist and dedicated song collector.

**Doors open at 7:00pm, Show starts at 8:00pm**

***Please Note that all events at 58 Main are supported by donation. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and is what allows us to continue bringing awesome musicians to Bangor.

***For those that may have difficulty navigating stairs… this event will be held on our second floor and our bathroom is in the basement. We do not have a lift or elevator. We apologize for any inconvenience.