All-Stars are featured at me&thee's 50th anniversary show

The me&theecelebrates its 50th anniversary with a special concert featuring the me&thee All-Stars: Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl, Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick, andBill Staines on Friday, September 6. There will also have a special ribbon-cutting ceremony with Chamber of Commerce members to mark this landmark anniversary. The me&thee is located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford Street, Marblehead, MA.

In the ‘70s, the Boston Globe called them ‘the darlings of the folk scene.’ Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl wrote their signature song “Marblehead Morning” back then and, of course, the evocative ballad was a huge local (as well as national) hit. They have been making music - together and separately – ever since. Daring’s soundtracks for filmmakers such as John Sayles (Return of the Secaucus Seven, The Secret of Roan Inish, Lone Star, Brother from Another Planet) and for PBS Frontline and Nova series have kept him busy as a composer, but he has never stopped performing. Stahl’s career branched out into jazz standards as well as folk music. She has recorded themes for PBS’s Masterpiece Theater and music for movie and television soundtracks. Lately, she has been working on a theatre piece about baby-boom women - a memoir with songs – with cowriter Harriet Reisin.

A duo for more than 40 years, Billy Novick and Guy Van Duser have performed in concerts, clubs and festivals all over North America and Europe. They are no strangers to the m&thee and have shared the stage on many occasions. Acoustic guitarist Van Duser and clarinetist Novick blend their musical sensibilities into an upbeat and soulful stage presence. Their repertoire dips into Gershwin, Ellington, and Jelly Roll Morton, incorporating original music that ushers the swing era into the 21st century.

Bill Staines needs no introduction in these parts. From the time he started out on the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the ‘60s to right now, he has been a regularly featured performer at the me&thee ever since 1970. His fun-loving stage presence adds to the flow of the folk classics he has written and performs. His songs, among the most popular and durable on the folk scene, have been collected in grade school music books, church hymnals, and the classic anthology Rise Up Singing which includes eight of his songs. Among the top Bill Staines favorites are “A Place in the Choir,” “Old Dogs,” “River,” and “My Sweet Wyoming Home.”

Tickets for The me&thee All-Stars are $25 in advance and $28 at the door. Student tickets are $10. Tickets are available online at www.meandthee.org and can be purchased in person at the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore or the Arnould Gallery in Marblehead. As at all me & thee coffeehouse events, refreshments are available, including homemade pastries, coffee, and teas. The me & thee has a handicapped-accessible entrance and an accessible bathroom, is a smoke-free environment, and is easily reached by MBTA bus.

The me & thee is one of the oldest continually running all-volunteer acoustic listening rooms in New England, and probably the country. It has been and will always be a non-profit organization sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead. For information and directions, call 781-631-8987 or check the website at www.meandthee.org.

Next concert: Contemporary folk band Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem with Corey Laitman opening