PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present contemporary folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Gorka, plus folk duo Lizzy Mandell and Barry Stockwell, at Next Stage on Sunday, June 4, at 7 p.m. at 15 Kimball Hill Rd.
Gorka “is perhaps the quintessential iconic singer/songwriter of the 1980's folk scene,” organizers say. Hailing from New Jersey, “he honed his craft and persona as a shy, wry, and insightful singer-songwriter in the Greenwich Village Fast Folk and Boston music scenes.”
Gorka got his start at Godfrey Daniels, a neighborhood coffeehouse in eastern Pennsylvania. After releasing his first album with Minnesota-based Red House Records in 1987, he recorded five albums with Will Ackerman's High Street Records, a subsidiary of Windham Hill Records, between 1989 and 1996.
Since then, he has released five more solo albums on Red House, plus one with label-mates Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza Gilkyson under the name Red Horse. He continues to tour, playing festivals, theaters, and clubs all over North America and Europe.
“Twisting, turning, and tying words and phrases, Gorka works every nuance of language to capture a wide array of topics and experiences woven into memorable melodies,” states a news release. His songs have been recorded and or performed by the likes of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black, and Maura O'Connell.
The artist's website lists his performances as including Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, and etown, as well as CNN. His song “Where No Monuments Stand” is featured in the documentary Every War Has Two Losers, about activist and Oregon Poet Laureate William Stafford.
Vermont-based singer-songwriter Mandell's debut album Made for Flying won (1)Barre-Montpelier Times Argus/Rutland Herald Tammie Awards for best singer-songwriter and best album in 2012. After releasing a collaborative album Free Now, she is currently working on her second solo album, and performing select concerts with The Stockwell Brothers guitarist and vocalist Barry Stockwell.
Tickets are $25 in advance, $28 at the door, and $10 for access to an online live stream of the concert. For information, call 802-387-0102. Advance tickets are available at nextstagearts.org. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar.