Friday, August 13: Rachel Wearsch and the Beatnik Playboys

This will be your lucky day if you come on out and enjoy the tasty and tasteful ensemble of veterans wringing every last hope and tear out of every standard and original that they humbly and gracefully lay before you.  Not this is something artsy. It’s real, authentic songcraft that mixes well with a sizable quantity of food and drink – mostly drink. I’d call this a beer night -Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

Saturday, August 14: Hey Mavis!

Our New World Americana series continues with the return of the nearly-world-renown vocal trio from the bohemian hills of Nohio.

Cuyahoga Calico (audio track)

Hey Mavis was formed in 2008 by nationally-acclaimed fiddler Ed Caner as part of the Artist-In-Residence program in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Hey Mavis is Laurie Michelle Caner (lead songwriter, vocals, banjo), Sarah Benn (songwriter, vocals, bass), and Ed Caner (viola profunda, fiddle, mixmaster). Ed has performed as soloist and sideman with countless artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Smokey Robinson, Wayne Newton, Michael Stanley and Page and Plant. Laurie and Sarah both have extensive experience as members of the all-women vocal harmony group The Rhondas.

In honor of their big hot, Red Wine, we’ll be imploring you to partake of Karma Red Blend, 2007, from Grand River Valley, Ohio. It hearkens of tobacco, blackberries and sturdy tannins and mixes well with cutting-edge blue grass.

Friday, August 20: Good Things!

Good Things Live, The Band, mixes Afro-Cuban, Brasilian,  and Jazz music and totally rocks the house.  Plan to dance, sway, tap, and/or bob your tired head uncontrollably and leave happier than you’ve been in a very long time.

Saturday, August 21: Black Gypsy, featuring Barnabas Crosby

Compared to the likes of Bill Withers and Anthony Hamilton, Barnabas blends his melodic voice and smooth jazz chords to take you to another place. A playwright by trade, Barnabas began performing spoken word in high school, before earning a scholarship to study theatre at Ohio University. As an undergrad Barnabas took advantage of every opportunity to be on stage, whether it was acting or spitting rhymes at a poetry slam, Barnabas was drawn to the spotlight. After college Barnabas headed straight for New York where his plays “Hands”, “After the Rain” and “23: Laces on Wire” earned him considerable recognition before returning to Ohio to study Theatre History and Criticism. While back in Ohio Barnaba’s play “Fox Hole” was performed at the Cleveland Playhouse for his Master’s thesis, and set him off like a rocket. “When I left Ohio and moved to Philly, the arts scene was boomin’ like crazy- I had to get involved”, Barnabas says. Ironically, it was in Philadelphia where Barnabas picked up the guitar and penned his first tunes. Despite the lack of experience as a vocal performer, Barnabas uses catchy lyrics, the chops of an experience stage performer and comic wit to keep audiences hanging on his every word. Since returning to New York in 2008 Barnabas has been writing songs for female vocalist and educational music for elementary children.

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/barnabascrosby1

Aside from the great performances this weekend by Rachel Wearsch on Friday and Yonder Blue on Saturday, the festival is coming to town!

Do not miss the biggest festival of the year! Saturday, July 3 from 10 am to 5 pm, celebrate your Independent Spirit with dozens of local merchants and indie vendors of kitsch and collectibles. This is a street fair with flair!

ANTIQUES FAIR

The dozen or so antique dealers on Larchmere will be open for business. Plus, the Shaker Heights parking lot (12737 Larchmere) will be dedicated to antiques. Vendors include KLM Antiques, Swope Antiques, Ann Douglas Antiques, Lakewood Antiques Mall, Maria Antiques, Jaxdec

o and BoomModern and more.

GALLERIES GALORE

Nothing says summer festival quite like a collection of artists. Galleries Galore will be in the parking lot at the far east end (formerly American Crafts Gallery) at 13010 Larchmere.

FLEA MARKET

Everyone loves a flea market. Scads of used but useful stuff will be available for sale by friends, neighbors, and residents.

BAZAAR BIZARRE

After a successful debut at last year’s Holiday Stroll, The Bazaar Bizarre – “NOT your granny’s craft show” returns to Larchmere. Organizer Shannon Okey, owner of  fiber arts/craft paradise Knitgrrl Studio, and her crew of 50 irreverent and indie artists and crafters will be back in the former Sedlak’s headquarters at the intersection of Larchmere and East 127th Street. www.bazaarbizarre.org

AUTHOR ALLEY

45… count ‘em… 45 local authors from the famous and mainstream to grassroots to self-published will be in Loganberry Book’s driveway at 13015 Larchmere. Authors include J.T. Dutton, Sharon Gregor, Charles Mintz, Carolyn Nilson, Susan Petrone, James Renner, Les Roberts, Sarah Willis, Loung Ung and Carlo Wolff. The Lit, the non-profit center that supports writers and sponsors workshops, will also be on hand with their list of upcoming events. www.loganberrybooks.com

LARCHMERE UNCORKED

Larchmere Merchants Association and Summit Charitable Events Foundation present the first annual Larchmere Uncorked, a benefit for the Larchmere Beautification Fund. Larchmere Uncorcked kicks off at 12 noon in the courtyard in front of Shaker Quality Auto Body (12916 Larchmere).

A “Festival-within-the-Festival,” guests will be able to sip and sample over 100 wines from local, national and international producers. Delectable food will be featured, prepared by local restaurants. Tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 at the door, and include 10 wine tastings and a souvenir wine glass. Designated Driver tickets and additional drink tickets are also available. www.LarchmereUncorked.com

FOOD COURT
In addition to the nine eateries on the street, there will be several sidewalk vendors, plentiful food at Larchmere Uncorked, and a Food Court at Community Housing Solutions at 12114 Larchmere. This is festival food: fudge puppies, PizzaBogo, Just Like Mom’s soul cooking, Belgian hot dogs, tacos, ice cream, gyros and fried dough.

CHALK DRAWING

Artists Robin VanLear and Jesse Rhinehart will create a three-dimensional chalk drawing on the sidewalk of the LifeSkills building (12201 Larchmere). Check back throughout the day to see their progress! Robin is a sculptor, costume designer and performance artist who has served as the Artistic Director of The Cleveland Museum of Art‘s Parade the Circle throughout its 20 year history. Jesse is a painter, muralist and educator.

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Thursday, June 24: Troubadours of Divine Bliss

We are so delighted that the Troubadours of Divine Bliss have made us a regular stop on their never-ending tour. As most of you know, there shows are always super fun, super engaging, beautiful, and full of, well, bliss.

For the as-of-yet un-exposed, the Troubadours are a duo out of Louisville, Kentucky who have won many awards, played all the big festivals all over the world and still can be seen up-close for a little while.

Aim Me Smiley sings  lead vocals and plays guitar while Renee Ananda sings harmonies and plays accordion. While their playing is always intricate and tasty, it’s their harmonies that win my heart every time I see them.

There website is promising “Songs, stories & Steph under the stars!”

Friday, June 25: Kerry Kean

Kerry is touring in support of his most recent recording, New River Guitarism.

FolkWorld put it like this:

Kerry Kean’s album (New River Guitarism) stays primarily in the well-known territory of modern easy-listening compositions for finger-picked guitar, with smooth melodies and harmonies. An up-tempo version of the classic fiddle tune “Red-Haired Boy” with well-crafted improvisational passages alters the otherwise characteristic sound of the album. A strikingly beautiful rendition of the John Dowland piece “Flow My Tears” seems to bring out the best of Kean’s guitar playing, matched only by his original piece “After the Harvest”, for which Kean won the 2008 Kent State Folk Festival talent contest.

Saturday, June 26: Gene’s Jazz Hot

Gene brings back the quartet for some musical magic under the stars.

Come swing on the patio!

Draw near all ye who seek the quaint charm of music created for the bucolic and arboreal.   Two men embark upon the journey of strum and song and venture into the deepest forest to sit by the glow and provide outdoor ambiance and stories.

Saturday, June 12: GOOD THINGS LIVE!

About as much fun as anything that is ever going to happen to you with no ill side effects. Come dance. Come sway. Come join in the energy of this Afro-Cuban-Brazilian rhythmic force of nature.

Good Things is Mike McNamara, Baba Adetobi and Ismail Duglas and a whole bunch of awesome.

Saturday, May 13, 2010: Gene’s Jazz Hot

Gene Epstein and her merry players come in and strike up a party. Real musicians. Great Songs. Real Happy.

Friday, April 30: Rachel Wearsch and the Beatnik Playboys

The first time I heard Rachel sing, it rendered me speechless, jawed dropped, stopped me in my tracks – all that stuff. I have worked in the music business long enough to know that it doesn’t take much in the way of misfortune and bad decisions to keep even the finest of voices out of the winners circle of songstress fame and fortune, but it is a great injustice that Rachel can be found in tiny places like ours.  The only greater injustice would be if you didn’t hear her. She’s been at it for a while, performing since she was 12, Masters in Music Education. She has opened for many top artists including Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Loretta Lynn, Ray Stevens, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Vern Gosdin, Clint Black , Alan Jackson, Aaron Tippin, Bill Monroe, Little Jimmy Dickens, Southern Pacific, Ricky Scaggs and The Judds. She’s the real thing bringing the tender power of Mary Chapin Carpenter or Bonnie Raitt and the vocal skill to leave you weeping like Lorreta Lynn or George Jones. With the likes of Bill Watson and Steve Downey backing her up, it is always a memorable musical treat.

I’ve included a selection from a number of beautifully recorded videos available on You Tube.

Saturday, May 1: The Bar Snatchers

We are tickled to offer The Bar Snatchers on their maiden voyage with us. Sarah Bellamy brings her edgier vocal power to bear, reminding us of Michelle Shocked or Melissa Etheridge.  Dave Stone and Pete Psarras provide a solid groove and some soaring melodies.

Friday April 16: Black River Belles

If you haven’t seen the Black River Belles yet, you are really missing out. These ladies are smart, funny, and talented and bring a welcome ray of sunshine wherever they go. Traditional bluegrass standards rub elbows with current hits rendered in three-part harmony and guitar, fiddle, and stand-up bass accompaniment. This is likely the last chance you’ll have to see the Belles before they head south for the summer.

Saturday April 17: Gene’s Jazz Hot

What’s not to love? Some of the most fun music of all time played lovingly by some of Cleveland’s Best Musicians. What are you doing? Get down here already. You can catch this quartet at Vine and Bean or at our favorite bookstore, Loganberry Books (shown here) every month.

Come to the show and buy the t-shirt!

The evenings have been pretty gracious in allowing us to spread out onto the patio,  soak up the music, the wine and the stars.  This weekend

Friday, April 9, 2010: Telling Point

Telling Point

Telling Point is back to offer up their powerful combination of vocals and percussion, music and song, conflict and resolution, truth and beauty. Alyssa sings and plays guitar, while Sue plays Drum kit, Djembe, Dun Duns and together they’ll play with your soul.

Saturday, April 10: Tom Goss with special guest, Jeremiah Clark

While at the University of Central Missouri, studying to become a teacher, Tom decided that he was meant to be a priest instead. He moved to Washington, DC in 2004 to enter Catholic seminary. It didn’t go as planned and, disillusioned by the institution in which he had placed his faith, he chose to abandon religious training—but not his quest.

Back in secular life, Tom sought new ways to work toward social justice, the issue that had led him to the church in the first place. He took a job running a breakfast program for the homeless. He began to build a life with his partner Mike. And he channeled his message of love, hope and reconciliation through his music. Don’t expect hymns.

Tom offers up dynamic acoustic rock featuring muscular guitar, hooky melodies and a uniquely powerful voice. If the 26-year-old has any patron saints, they are Jack Johnson, Damien Rice, Ben Folds, and Joss Stone. Since April 2006, when he released his self-produced debut, Naked Without, Tom has played scores of coffeehouses, bars, gay pride festivals and other events—honing his skills along the way.

With the January 2008 release of his second CD, Rise, Tom demonstrates just how far he’s come. The six songs showcase his stylistic flexibility, from the urgent growl of “Morning Sun” to the sweet and unadorned “King of Something Right.” The recent music video for “Rise” barreled its way to #2 on MTV’s LOGO and stuck around 8 weeks.

On April 7, 2009, Tom released his latest album Back to Love. The album continues to build on themes of rebirth

Jeremiah in his fancy shirt

and renewal, of love and loss and what lies beyond. Tom’s music remains a playlist for anyone on a journey from darkness to light.

Openly-gay, singer-songwriter Jeremiah Clark brings a fresh voice to the timeless ideas of love, loss and living

with both. With effortless, vocal phrasing and an eclectic, musical palette, Jeremiah marries truly heartfelt lyrics and unforgettable melodies that make this new talent a rising star.

We also have Gene’s Jazz Hot putting the whole place on broil.

Don’t miss out!

Good Things Live

Good Things was formed in 2005 by Mike McNamara, Baba Adetobi, and Ismail Douglas. A unique blend of world music, Good Things infuses Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, Jazz and other forms of musical styles. Many original compositions and a constant beat that will make your heart beat faster and stir the passions for warmer nights!

Saturday, March 20th: Lauren Voss

Lauren Voss

Singer-Songwriter-Entertainer-Barista-Soothsayer-All-Around-Town-Hipster, Lauren Voss returns to the parlor to weave her sweet web.  Come join her entourage that usually includes a fair number of young local musicians looking very cool.