Priscilla Herdman and Max Cohen perform in Woods Hole
The Woods Hole Folk Music Society's 41st season will continue on Sunday, March 24, 2013 with a performance by contemporary folk singer Priscilla Herdman and fingerstyle guitarist Max Cohen. The concert takes place at 7:30 PM in Community Hall, 68 Water Street, in Woods Hole. Doors open at 7 PM. Admission is $15 with discounts for members, seniors, youth and children. Community Hall is handicapped accessible; street parking is free after 6 PM.
With a sound reminiscent of early Joan Baez or Judy Collins, Priscilla Herdman has established herself as an insightful interpreter and a singer of uncommon range, depth and clarity. She is widely known for the gentle power of her voice and for uncluttered arrangements of both traditional and original material; her songs range from children's lullabies and songs of play to insightful songs of love, loss, journey and discovery. While traversing a wide range of human experience, she chooses songs of humanistic vision and caring, leaving audiences enriched and deeply moved.
Born in New York to musical parents, Priscilla Herdman discovered a guitar in the family's attic as a teen and taught herself to play and sing, performing at coffeehouses while earning a degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Eventually her love and talent for music won out, and she became one of the few touring female performers in the folk revival scene of the 1970s. Her first album, "The Water Lily," was recorded with Abby Newton (cello) and Jay Ungar (fiddle & mandolin), and featured settings of Australian poet laureate Henry Lawson as well as the antiwar classic "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda." The album garnered wide acclaim and led to further collaborations and international tours. After settling in rural New York with a young family, she recorded several albums of children's music based on lullabies and other songs for her own children, which received numerous awards including National Parenting and Parents' Choice Gold and Classic.
Ms. Herdman has since toured and recorded with a wide variety of acoustic artists, from Bill Staines and Artie Traum to Linda Thompson and Christine Lavin. Her collaboration with singers Cindy Mangsen and Anne Hills has proved especially fruitful, with a vocal combination described by many reviewers as magical; they have toured and recorded together for nearly two decades.
In 2003 Ms. Herdman was invited to perform at the American cathedral in Paris, to honor the generosity of the French to stranded American travelers during 9/11. She continues to record, to tour internationally and to touch audiences deeply with her lyrical voice and heartwarming songs.
She will be accompanied by Max Cohen, an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist based on Cape Cod. Mr. Cohen's sensitivity to style and nuance has set him apart in the world of studio accompaniment. He has been playing and writing for guitar for more than twenty years, and has gained wide praise for technical precision and tasteful interpretations reminiscent of Alex deGrassi and James Taylor. In addition to performing, recording, producing and digital editing, Mr. Cohen teaches guitar locally and at festivals and workshops such as Old Songs and Philadelphia Folk Festival. He recently released a solo album, "In the Wood," and has produced CDs for numerous other artists in a wide variety of genres including traditional and contemporary folk, rock, country, renaissance and children's music.
Upcoming performances in Woods Hole include: April 14, maritime duo Pint and Dale; and April 28, folk & gospel duo Kim and Reggie Harris.
The Woods Hole Folk Music Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enjoyment of folk music in all its forms. Concerts are generally held on the first and third Sunday of each month from October to May. They are made possible by support from its members, season subscribers, volunteers, and performers. More information is available at www.arts-cape.com/whfolkmusic or by calling 508-540-0320.
