Event

Mark Erelli (Sky Smeed opens)

The last time Mark Erelli graced the West Side Folk stage was in a duo with Jeffrey Foucault; a subsequent concert here fell victim to an ice storm. Considering how busy Mark's schedule is as a very in demand sideman, we are excited to get him back on the schedule so soon.

Erelli has tackled everything from western swing and protest songs to lullabies and murder ballads, all in a richly expressive voice that Twangville.com heralds as "the male counterpart to Neko Case." It is a journey that has taken Erelli from church basement coffeehouses to the main stage of the Newport Folk Festival, stopping briefly along the way to sing the national anthem at Fenway Park.

Erelli also has a busy career as an in-demand multi-instrumentalist sideman. These days, fans are just as likely to find Erelli backing up Lori McKenna at the Grand Ole Opry, or Josh Ritter at London's Royal Albert Hall, as they are to see a solo acoustic performance at venerable listening rooms like Harvard Square's Club Passim. Some might see chasing both a timeless lyric and an exquisite lap steel guitar solo as mutually exclusive endeavors, but not Erelli.

"Every time I accompany a great songwriter, I have the best seat in the house," Erelli explains. "I see how these amazing artists connect with their songs and their audiences from a unique vantage point. For me, every sideman gig is a Master Class, and it makes me a better musician and songwriter."

Sky Smeed was born and raised outside of Chanute, Kan., in an old, one-room schoolhouse his parents bought and turned
into a home in the early 1970s.The first music he ever heard came from Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Van Morrison and Merle Haggard. Hearing this roots style of music playing on an old record player has stayed with Sky and is evident when he takes the stage to share his effortless, country tinged tunes of working hard, dogs, love, money, beer, coffee, and the call of the road.