On Stage: Local music artists coming home for the holidays

Downingtown’s Kate Klim, Newtown’s Maddie Hogan among those performing locally

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

Being “home for the holidays” is a sentiment shared by almost everyone. And, it could serve as the unofficial theme for this month’s bookings at The Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org).

It all starts this weekend beginning with the twin bill on December 5 that features Newtown Square’s Maddie Hogan along with Sara Spicer, who hails from Folsom — the one in nearby Delaware County not the one in California made famous by its prison.

Hogan is a singer/songwriter whose career is in the embryonic stage and the talented young musician is ready to break out in a big way.

“I graduated from Marple Newtown High in 2009 and moved to Hollywood, California,” said Hogan, during a phone interview last week. “I went there to study at the Musicians Institute for Vocal Performance. I took classes to learn how to read music and how to feel comfortable with being on stage.

“A big part of the studies was the ‘Live Performance Workshop.’ Each of the students and to perform a song live in front of the class and then the rest of the students would critique the performance.”

In 2010, Hogan returned to the Delaware Valley but put her music career on hold.

“I stopped playing music for about three years,” said Hogan. “I would just dabble with a little guitar here and there. Then, I started seriously getting back into music about three months ago.

“In July, I went through some personal life changes. From that, songwriting became very easy. The changes gave me the strength to write about former relationships. In the past, I would hit a wall and stop.

‘Back in July, I wrote my first song in just two hours. It just came out of nowhere. It’s called ‘Relationship Road.’ It was a conversation I had with someone in a text message. I had gone through a very painful breakup and was talking to this new person.”

While not exactly opening the floodgates, the song did open the way for more songwriting ventures by Hogan.

“Since then, I’ve written four songs that are totally completed,” said Hogan, who works as a hostess in a restaurant and makes addition funds by doing face-painting. “I also have four new songs that I’m working on right now.

“I plan to go into the studio soon to record demos for all four of my originals. I’ve already gotten the rough mix for ‘Relationship Road’ done. I’ve also been performing a lot. I do original songs and covers of classic rock songs. I love KISS. They’re my favorite band.

“For the past few months, I’ve played every other Friday at Grace Winery at Sweetwater Farm in Glen Mills. I also perform at open mic nights at the Deck at Harbor Point in Essington. This will be my first time to play at The Flash and I’m looking forward to it.”

On December 6, The Flash will present “Hometown Christmas Show” featuring local artists Lori Citro, Rob Dickenson, Todd Chappelle and Jessica Graae. On December 12, there will be a performance by Elvis impersonator Bob Lougheed.

The schedule for December 13 has a free screening of the movie “Elf” at noon and an evening concert with Mary Fahl and Brooke Falls. The matinee show on December 14 will feature more area favorites — Lizanne Knott, Dan May, Jen Creed, and Cole Redding — and the evening concert hosts the Reminders and Keith Mack.

David Bromberg, who will be performing at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) on December 4, is viewed by fellow musicians and his legion of fans as one of America’s “musical treasures.”

Bromberg, a guitarist/singer/songwriter, released his first album “David Bromberg” in 1972 and has since performed and/or recorded with a long list of top-flight musical acts including George Harrison, Bob Dylan, the Eagles, Carly Simon, Willie Nelson, Jerry Garcia, the Beastie Boys and Jorma Kaukonen.

Bromberg’s “Use Me” album, which was released in 2011, featured an amazing array of talent including Vince Gill, Los Lobos, Levon Helm, John Hiatt, Dr. John, Keb’ Mo’, Widespread Panic and Linda Ronstadt.

When he performs onstage, Bromberg employs a variety of band configurations — especially the David Bromberg Big Band and the David Bromberg Quintet. He also occasionally does gigs as a solo artist. His show at Sellersville will be with the David Bromberg Quintet.

Bromberg’s most recent album is “Only Slightly Mad,” which was released by West Chester-based Appleseed Records late last year. He recor4ded it with producer Larry Campbell (three-time Grammy-winning producer for Levon Helm and multi-instrumentalist with Bob Dylan) and engineer Justin Guip  at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York.

“This album came out of my previous album ‘Use Me,’” said Bromberg, during a recent phone interview from his violin shop in Wilmington. “Making ‘Use Me’ was an awful lot to ask. I was humbled by the players who agreed to do it. Larry Campbell produced those sessions.

“So, when it was time for another album, I contacted Larry and said I wanted to do a Chicago blues style album. He said he wanted to do and old-style David Bromberg album — the kind that had everything and the kitchen sink.

“I had the tunes all ready. They were the things my band and I had been playing live. It was a switch from what I wanted to do with the new album which was a blues album. But, I wanted to record these songs sooner or later.

“One of the songs was ‘I’ll Take You Back.’ It’s a song by Rick Estrin, who was the harp player for Little Charlie and the Nightcats. I’ve loved that song for quite awhile. Another was ‘I’ll Rise Again’ which I hadn’t recorded before because I needed a choir to sing on it.

“I went in the studio with my band and the recording went pretty quickly — three weeks at the most. Then, we took about another week to mix the album. I was really pleased with how it turned out.”

Even though Bromberg began making records in the early 1970s, he has not been making music on a continual basis ever since.

“I stopped playing in 1980,” said Bromberg. “I just simply got burned out. And, I had hand trouble for awhile — soft tissue problem in my left hand. But, it’s all better now.

Bromberg resumed his recording career in 2007 with the release of his “Try Me One More Time” album.

“I was with my friends Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen,” said Bromberg. “We were doing a gig together in Texas. We got talking about how we got started in music and we began playing some songs by Reverend Gary Davis. Chris and Herb said to me — you should be doing it not maybe doing it. I went got in the studio after that.”

It was a move that pleased an enormous amount of Bromberg fans around the world.

Other upcoming shows at the Sellersville Theater are Savoy Brown featuring Kim Symonds on December 5, Ted Vigil on December 6, Eric Mintel Quartet on December 7 (1 p.m.), Adrian Belew Power Trio on December 7 (7:30 p.m.) and Tab Benoit and Tommy Castro on December 10.

David Bromberg’s show on December 4 will start at 8 p.m. with Honey Child as the opening act. Tickets are $39.50 and $55.

Bromberg’s wife Nancy Josephson will be involved in an historic show this weekend at the World Café Live at the Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400, www.queen.worldcafelive.com). Josephson is a founding member of Honey Child, a quartet that also features Natalee Smith, Jake Heck and Kathleen Weber. On December 5, the group, which has opted to disband, will perform its farewell show at the Queen.

It will be a busy night for Josephson, who is also a featured artist at the Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery in the Carvel State Office Building (820 North French Street, Wilmington). Her opening reception, which features craft items that incorporate beads, sequins and other non-traditional materials with a Haitian voudon theme, is scheduled to run from 5-7:30 p.m. on December 5.

The World Café Live at the Queen will also present Jonathon Boogie Long on December 4, The Chronicles and Atlas Grey on December 6, James Cotton and Bryan Russo on December 9 and Classical Revolution Delaware on December 10.

From December 4-6, the stellar Tedeschi-Trucks Band featuring Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, is having a three-show stand at the Keswick Theatre (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com) and then Forte headlines the venue on December 7.

On December 9, the Keswick hosts a special show by one of Ireland’s all-time music greats — the multi-talented Phil Coulter. The legendary bandleader/songwriter/pianist/vocalist will be joined by Andy Cooney for a show billed as “Celtic Twilight Christmas.”

Coulter grew up in a musical household in Derry, Northern Ireland. His father played the fiddle and his mother played piano. He continued down the musical trail when he studied music at Queens University in Belfast and it was there that he started his first own band.

After writing a few hits in Ireland, he relocated to London at the height of the “Swinging Sixties” in England’s capital — which also had become the capital of rock music. Coulter formed a songwriting team with Bill Martin from Scotland.

The duo wrote “Puppet On A String,” which was a worldwide hit for Sandie Shaw and, more importantly, won the Eurovision Song Contest for the U.K. in 1967. The next year, the songwriting team came within one point of pulling off a Eurovison double with “Congratulations” by Cliff Richard (which was also a massive worldwide hit).

Their translation of the French song “My Boy” was an international hit by Richard Harris and later by Elvis Presley. Coulter continued to have success in the world of pop music and worked with a long list of major acts. But, he gradually shifted his focus to Celtic music and lilting instrumentals.

It was obviously the right way to go.

Over the years, Coulter has recorded more than 20 platinum discs and close to 50 gold discs. He has won two Grand Prix Eurovision awards, five Ivor Novello Awards and three ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers awards) and also has a Grammy Nomination to his credit.

“Next year, I’ll be celebrating 50 years in the music business,” said Coulter, during a phone interview Wednesday evening. “Right now, I have three albums on the charts in Ireland — ‘Serene Classics,’ a Christmas compilation and my latest album ‘Echoes of Home.’

“’Echoes of Home’ was my first-ever solo piano album. It was just me, a nine-foot Steinway Classic Grand and a bagful of Celtic melodies. I recorded it in Dublin a few years ago.”

Coulter has ridden to success as an instrumentalist because of the peaceful nature of his music.

The titles of his albums tell you all you need to know — titles such as “Peace and Tranquility,” “Homeland,” “Classic Tranquility,” “Serenity,” “Sea of Tranquility,”

“Forgotten Dreams,” “Classic Tranquility,” “Healing Angel,” “Timeless Tranquility” and “Ten Torments of the Damned” (just kidding on the last one which is actually a record by a band called Cattle Decapitation).

“I’ve just come to America for a few shows that will feature a rhythm section and a small string section,” said Coulter, whose youngest son Ryan Coulter just signed a contract to play goalkeeper for the Sligo Rovers, one of Ireland’s top soccer teams.

“We’re doing concerts in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Carnegie Hall and the Keswick,” said Coulter. “I’ll be doing the shows with Andy Cooney, a singer from New York who is the Irish-American favorite son.

“The show will also feature guest vocalist Geraldine Branagan, who is my wife. She was a big record-seller back in Ireland when I was a writer. She left music for awhile to be the mother of our six children. Now, she is back on stage and singing great.

“After the show at the Keswick, we’ll go back to Ireland. We’re doing three big showcase concerts running up to the holidays. But, to be in New York at Christmas time will be a real treat. And, we always have a wonderful time performing at the Keswick.”

On December 4, the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389, www.ardmoremusic.com) will host Kermit Ruffins & the BBQ Swingers with the Cory Henry Group as the opening act.

The early show on December 5, which is scheduled for 7 p.m., will feature the highly-acclaimed bluegrass band J2B2 featuring John Jorgenson, Herb Pedersen, Jon Randall and Mark Fain. The late show, which is slated to start at 10 p.m., presents Jimkata & the Indobox.

The highlight of the schedule for the upcoming week at Burlap and Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427- 4547, www.burlapandbean.com) is the December 4 concert featuring Downingtown native Kate Klim and veteran singer/songwriter Antje Duvekot.

Singer-songwriter Kate Klim lived in the Boston area for a number of years and now is a resident of Nashville, Tennessee. But, no matter where she chooses to establish her current base of operations, Downingtown will always be her hometown.

Klim, a 2000 graduate of Downingtown High, returns to the area to perform a few times each year and Burlap and Bean has become her “home away from home.”

“I’ve played a lot of venues in the Philadelphia area including Burlap and Bean, World Café Live, Steel City, Tin Angel and the Point,” said Klim, during a phone interview earlier this year from her home in Nashville.

“In recent years, Burlap and Bean has become my ‘go to’ place. It’s a great room to play and the people who run it are the kindest people. It feels like a musical home because they care about the music and the musicians.”

Klim’s third studio album “100 Million Years” was released in the late summer of 2014. Kate describes this album as having “a little more maturity, a little more quirk, and a lot less heartbreak.” It is also, notably, her first album released since her recent marriage.

“I did the Kickstarter campaign last fall and it was great,” said Klim, who earned a degree in songwriting from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. “We met our goal. The industry keeps changing and fans are replacing record companies.”

Kickstarter is a crowd-funding platform in which fans are offered rewards in exchange for their pledges. A pledge goal is set and the artist must reach that goal or forfeit the pledges. Klim’s goal was $10,000 and she received $11,127 from 128 backers.

Expect to hear quite a few songs from “100 Million Years” at this week’s show in Newtown Square. Tickets are $15.

The Burlap and Bean’s show on December 5 will be Charlie Phillips’ tribute to John Lennon. The line-up for December 6 includes Garnet Rogers and Michael Braunfeld.

The Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043, www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com) will present Jefferson Berry & the Urban Acoustic Coalition on December 5 and Vance Gilbert with opening act Dan Lavoie on December 6.

Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com) will be closed for a private part on December 5 and reopen on December 6 with the triple bill of The Axiom Project, Sick Shift and Overfield.

The schedule for Melodies Café (2 East Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore, 610-645-5269, www.melodiescafe.com) includes Rosemary Ostrowski’s  “The Living Room Series” on December 4, the Chuck Anderson Trio on December 5 and Dena, Vulcans, Dawn Hiatt and John Childers on December 6.

The Grand Opera House (818 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-652-5577, www.thegrandwilmington.org) will host Appalachian Christmas with Mark O’Connor & Friends on December 4.

Chameleon Club (223 North Water Street, Lancaster, 717-299-9684, http://www.chameleonclub.net) will have Har Mar Superstar, Heroes 4 Ransom on December 4, Chuck Ragan and Adam Faucetton December 5 and Flip Like Wilson on December 6.

Tellus 360 (24 East King Street, Lancaster, 717-393-1660, www.tellus360.com) will host

The Willie Marble Xperience on December 4, David and Valerie Mayfield on December 5 (6 p.m.), Assemblage 23, Ego Likeness and Stoneburner on December 5 (9 P.M.), Balkun Brothers on December 6, A Nepali Christmas on December 7 and DJ Salinger on December 10.

Fans of jazz fusion music will find an evening of delight on December 5 when the Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden St, Philadelphia, 215-232-2100, http://www.utphilly.com) presents Medeski, Martin, Scofield & Wood — the genre-defying collaboration between influential experimental trio Medeski, Martin & Wood and maverick guitarist John Scofield. Tickets are $30 and $32 for the 8:30 p.m. show.

Three interesting and highly entertaining stage shows with a Christmas theme are playing in the area over the next few weeks.

The Candlelight Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, 302- 475-2313, www.nctstage.org) is presenting the holiday classic show “A Christmas Carol” now through December 23. Tickets, which include a tasty buffet dinner, are $59 for adults and $33 for children (ages 4-12).

“A Christmas Carol,” a novella by Dickens that was first published in 1843, tells the tale of an old miser name Scrooge who gets transformed from a curmudgeon to a likable old soul after visits from his deceased partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future.

The American Music Theatre (2425 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, 800-0 648-4102, www.AMTshows.com) has its holiday show running now through December 30. The show features spectacular vocal harmonies, lively musical arrangements, impressive dancing, elaborate scenery, elegant costumes and the music of the AMT Orchestra. Tickets are $42.

The Rainbow Dinner Theatre (3065 Lincoln Highway East, Paradise, 800-292-4301, www.RainbowDinnerTheatre.com) is presenting its holiday production “Burglar’s Holiday” now through December 28. Ticket prices range from $48-$54.