PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present roots music trio Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards, plus singer-songwriter Emily Margaret, on Friday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Cortese is a songwriter, vocalist, and fiddler who blends American roots music with indie, electronic grooves, and pop vocals - all the while appealing to a broad audience from millennials to seasoned folkies.
Along with Cortese, Valerie Thompson and Isa Burke feature a hybrid of traditions and influences, full of interplays of string instrumentation. Drawing upon their combined decades of experience in a variety of styles, the trio perform songs with orchestral string arrangements and layered vocal harmonies.
Over a 20-year career, Cortese has had experiences like playing the Newport Folk Festival with Pete Seeger, standing onstage at the iconic Carnegie Hall in New York with Band of Horses, and a stint touring alongside the old-time stringband Uncle Earl.
She has recorded with artists ranging from Aoife O'Donovan and Brittany Haas to Tao Rodriguez Seeger and Session Americana, and has released seven albums under her own name. Cortese has toured worldwide, acting as an ambassador of American music on behalf of the U.S. State Department by performing and teaching in India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Estonia, Greece, Ukraine, and Montenegro.
Since first picking up a guitar at age 7, and writing her first song two years later, 17-year-old, Guilford-based singer-songwriter Emily Margaret has honed her songwriting craft studying at the Antidote Workshop with Sonya Kitchell and at the Berklee College of Music. Drawing inspiration from R&B, jazz, and folk influences, "she crafts a soulful folk sound that showcases her poetic yet relatable lyrics, and her powerful velvety voice," say organizers.
Next Stage is at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the Door, and $10 for access to the livestream. For information, call 802-387-0102. Advance tickets are available at nextstagearts.org. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.