Berklee College of Music Grads, Liz Longley and Jesse Terry at the me&thee

On Friday, February 27th, Me & Thee Coffeehouse opens the doors with award-winning, Berklee College of Music graduate Liz Longley on stage. Jesse Terry, a Grand Prize winner of the “John Lennon´s Songwriter Contest,” opens the show. Doors open at 7:30 PM for this 8:00 PM show at the me&thee coffeehouse which is located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford Street.

For painters, the joy and challenge of creation begins with a blank canvas. For Liz Longley, it started in an empty room. “I was living in Boston and my roommate had just moved out, so I paced the hardwood floors of her room with my guitar,” Longley recalls. “I walked back and forth until the songs were done. It was as though they were stuck in the apartment walls.”

While Longley’s songs and vocals invite complimentary comparisons to Shawn Colvin, Paula Cole, and Nanci Griffith--all artists she’s supported live--her latest effort spotlights a style and confidence that’s all her own. Longley’s singing never fails to thrill and enthrall. Her voice and tone, touched with the slightest of country inflections, pours out like clean, crystalline water. Still, she can roar like a waterfall or flow effortlessly along the bed her backing band lays down, as on “Peace of Mind.” The track showcases Longley yearning after silence and stillness to beat back demons of self-doubt.

Jesse Terry is an internationally touring, award-winning singer-songwriter whose intimacy with audiences, sincerity, and approachability has solidified him as a favorite at festivals and live venues nationwide. With three full-length albums, The Runner, Empty Seat On A Plane, and Stay Here With Me, this salt of the earth musician’s lyrical mastery, emotional depth, and soothing voice have often been compared to the likes of Ryan Adams, Jackson Browne, Josh Ritter, and James Taylor, reaching deep into listeners’ hearts to envelope them in shared joy, sadness, love, and unrelenting hope. Jesse has garnered worldwide acclaim including the elite honor of performing for US and NATO troops stationed at Thule Air Base in Greenland, and an official endorsement by Stonebridge Guitars International.

Tickets for the performance by Liz Longley with Jesse Terry opening are $20 in advance and $23 at the door. Tickets are available online at www.meandthee.org and can be purchased in person at the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore or the Arnold Gallery in Marblehead. The Landing Restaurant at 81 Front Street, Marblehead offers a 10% discount on dinner if you show your ticket or receipt. Enjoy a meal before the show! 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 acoustic coffeehouses in New England, and probably the country. It has been and will always be a volunteer, 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: March 6th- Driftwood with opening act Laney Jones