The New York Roots Music Association (NYRMA) has announced a new show taking place at the American Legion Hall in Plainview on Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. The Inspiration/Aspiration Songwriters Showcase will feature eight songwriters performing original songs, along with a song by an artist that has inspired them.
Steve Prisco, one of the founders of NYRMA, said that over the course of the many shows presented, the collective has performed hundreds of songs by a wide variety of songwriters.
“That’s really what our shows are about—the songs,” he said. “Among the great vocalists and instrumentalists that make up NYRMA, you’ll also find a group of songwriters as well. Fittingly, they are as diverse as they are talented, and we think it’s time that we featured some of their songs.”
The artists performing are Tom Ciorciari, Eric Crugnale, Chris Connolly, Andrew Fortier, Philip Hoffman, Karen Hudson, Annie Mark and Steven Welner, all with an assortment of backing musicians.
Admission is $15 and tickets are available in advance at www.eventbrite.com/e/inspirationaspiration-a-songwriters-showcase-tickets-21136538957.
The American Legion Hall is located at 115 Southern Parkway in Plainview. There is a full cash bar and the venue has ample free parking and is handicap accessible.
The Musicians:
Karen Hudson
Singer-songwriter Karen Hudson has been compared to Rosanne Cash by The Village Voice and to early Linda Ronstadt by 3rd Coast Music Magazine. She has opened for Madeliene Peyroux, Walter Salas Humara and Pete Seeger. This is Americana for people who keep The Byrds and The Beatles next to Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline.
Steve Welner
Welner has received much critical praise for all of his albums, and in particular for his songwriting. For his work on, Stole Away, he was nominated to the Austin, TX, based, “Freeform American Roots” (FAR) charts as one of the top five songwriters of 2008.
Andrew Fortier
Long Island native Andrew Fortier is a singer-songwriter whose warm, deeply personal style instantly transforms the stage into his living room and the audience into his family. His heartfelt songs such as “Restoration,” “Freeze Frame” and “I Say Grace” tell stories of the trials and tribulations of everyday life: love, loss, family, faith, acceptance and thankfulness.
Eric Crugnale
The driving force behind the early ‘90s band, The Rockefellers, Eric took a hiatus to pursue family and “responsible” career goals. In 2005 Crugnale formed the Winter Wonderland with family and friends to record a series of holiday themed releases. In 2010, he released Carol Was Here, his first solo album, to enthusiastic reviews.
Tom Ciorciari
Deerheart is the nom du rock of Tom Ciorciari, a veteran of the ‘80s garage scene in both New York City and Boston. Penning tunes and strumming stringed things since he was 5-years-old, Ciorciari writes songs that tear down your heart, build you back up and then make you want to fall in love all over again.
Chris Connolly
Weaving between two continents, Chris J. Connolly’s music has been his support system and a reflection of his journeys. Originally from S
taffordshire, England—Connolly spent his early years performing in hometown venues before eventually crossing the Atlantic to reside in his current home on Long Island. Inspired by both early American roots music and modern alt-rock, Connolly grew to craft his own unique style of writing and phrasing that moves between sublime, evolving and hook based melodies.
Annie Mark
Singer-songwriter Annie Mark has shared her country-tinged Americana-roots music with audiences from Ireland to Nashville. A New York native, she moved to the south at age 10, where she nurtured a life-long love of old-style country music and of songs that convey slice-of-life stories about people’s lives or personal experiences with heartfelt simplicity that is not dumbed-down but boiled down.
Philip Hoffman is the lead singer and songwriter for Azro Cady has played Joe’s Pub, The Mercury Lounge and Rockwood Music Hall in the city and has played multiple times at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett. Azro Cady’s latest release “No Chance” was produced by Jim Boquist. The song “Pattern for Panic” from was featured on Vin Scelsa’s Idiot’s Delight radio program.
