PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present contemporary folk singer/songwriters Patty Larkin and Darryl Purpose at Next Stage on Friday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Patty Larkin is “a visionary of sound and wonder, a real deal version of artistry made of equal parts guitar wizardry, vocals shot through with soul, and inventive lyrics that ripple across the terrain of the heart,” say organizers.
Described as “riveting” (Chicago Tribune), “hypnotic” (Entertainment Weekly), and “drop-dead brilliant” (Performing Songwriter), Patty has performed for more than 30 years with what organizers describe as “an imagination, enchantment, and technical artistry that has redefined the boundaries of the guitar driven singer/songwriter.”
Larkin's recent projects include putting poems from 10 notable poets to song for her Bird in a Cage album, gathering 25 friends, including Rosanne Cash, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Janis Ian, Bruce Cockburn, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Greg Brown to perform on her retrospective album 25, and producing the groundbreaking album La Guitara, a compilation of women guitarists whose aim is to actively change preconceptions about gender and guitar heroes.
Larkins's body of work has earned 11 Boston Music Awards. She has released 14 albums and has an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music to her credit. Her songs have been covered by artists such as Cher and Holly Cole and have been featured in television and films.
As a teenager, Darryl Purpose hitchhiked from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, where he began a legendary career as a professional blackjack player. In 1986, he walked from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., on the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament.
He began playing music on marches, including one in the former Soviet Union, and performed in the first-ever outdoor stadium concert in the history of Russia, produced by Bill Graham, featuring Santana, James Taylor, and Bonnie Raitt. Since then, he has released eight albums of original music that feature his narrative lyrics and fingerstyle guitar. The last two, Still The Birds and Next Time Around, spent weeks at #1 for airplay on Roots Music Report.