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Event
Lydia & Phil "If I Had My Way" CD Release Party
Lydia & Phil Biography
This songwriting team has been crafting songs together since May, 2011. Lydia's voice blends so smoothly with Phil's guitar and bass vocals you'd think they've been playing together for years. Both artists have been performing separately in the Regional Massachusetts area for over four decades. They each began singing various forms of folk music in the 1970s developing eclectic repertoires. Their broad spectrum of musical styles includes folk, country blues, Americana, jazz and contemporary tunes. It's the mutual love of music that makes this successful collaboration possible.
Fortune's early musical influences come from a variety of artists such as Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald to Judy Collins, Tom Rush, and Odetta. She has been writing songs since the early 1960s, singing primarily folk tunes. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, her interests shift. She helps form and performs as one of two vocalists in a local R&B band, Broken Ground. In the early 1990s, she's drawn to back to jazz when an opportunity arises to be featured as a Crown Hill Jazz Sextet guest vocalist. Later, she joins Worcester jazz pianist, Jim Heffernan for a 3-year stint as the vocalist for the Heffernan/Fortune Trio. Fortune, as an independent jazz vocalist working with local and regional musicians, subsequently spends 13 years performing jazz at community and private events. From 2007 to 2009, she is the vocalist for the Paul Combs Pocket Big Band.
Nigro's early influences come from not only folk music, but from classical music as well. In the early1970s, he writes compositions for the 12 string guitar and cello, performed at Yale University's Woolsley Hall. By the late 1970s, Nigro, deeply moved by the Delta blues guitar style, is on the road performing at various coffeehouses, college campuses and other venues across the country. He's drawn to such greats as Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotton and Leadbelly, as well as contemporary recording artists such as Geoff and Maria Muldaur and many others. Back in Central Massachusetts, he often opens for a band later nationally recognized as the J. Giles Band. In recent years, Nigro has performed with Spider John Koerner at a Boston venue, and currently accompanies Roger Salloom for special performances. A member of Worcester's longest-running rock band, the Coyotes - Nigro is also a guitarist for fun-loving rockabilly/eclectic music group, Cosmic Slim and His Intergalactic Plowboys.
This year Lydia & Phil's appearances have included the Nameless Coffeehouse, The Cantab lounge, the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA; as well as the Boulder Coffeehouse , Fitchburg, MA; the Listening Room , Jaffrey, NH; the Arts Block, Greenfield MA; the Side Street Cafe, Northampton , MA; and Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club, Oakham, MA.
Other projects include performing with Roger Salloom, Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers; Tom Smith, "The Kitchen Musician"; Jubilee Gardens and other musicians. Loyal to their hometown fans, Lydia & Phil participate in the Worcester area folk and acoustic scene at the Folk'n A at the Webster House, the Nu Café and Jayk's. They host also a monthly or bi-monthly event called "Duo Night" that features local musicians teaming up for the evening at the Sahara Café.
They are receiving broader exposure and honors. On May 9, 2012, as the opening musical act for lecturer, poet, screenplay writer, Dr. Maya Angelou, they performed an original song, "If I Had My Way", and an original arrangement of two Mississippi John Hurt songs, "My Creole Belle/Richland Woman" to an audience of over 2000 people at the Hanover Theater, Worcester, MA.
The original composition, "If I Had My Way", ranking in the top 100 entries, designated them as a finalist in the Great American Songwriters Contest of 2011. This is an annual competition featuring songwriters from across the U.S.A and 45 other countries.
Lydia & Phil are diligently composing new music and rehearsing for future performances, including opening for folk singer/songwriter, Rod MacDonald on September 29, 2012, 7:30 p.m. at the John Henry's Hammer Coffeehouse, First Unitarian Church, 90 Main Street, Worcester. They are officially releasing their first CD, including many original compositions, with a concert/cd release party on October 13, 2012, 7:30 p.m., also at First Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA.
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Location1st Unitarian Church (View)
90 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01608
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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