Bill Staines / Cormac McCarthy

A season at the me&thee would not be complete without a visit from Bill Staines. Bill has appeared on our stage during every one of our 43 years of existence. ¶ Cormac McCarthy is regarded by fellow musicians and fans alike as one of New England’s finest songwriters. We will celebrating the release of Cormac’s brand new record, Collateral.

For more than forty years, Bill Staines has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs, and coffeehouses. A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960’s and for a time, emceed the Sunday Hootenanny at the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. Bill quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. From the time in 1971 when a reviewer from the Boston Phoenix stated that he was “simply Boston’s best performer,” Bill has continually appeared on folk music radio listener polls as one of the top all time favorite folk artists.

Now, well into his fifth decade as a folk performer, he has gained an international reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer. Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular and durable singers on the folk music scene today, performing nearly 200 concerts a year and driving over 65,000 miles annually. In 1975, Bill won National Yodeling Championship in Kerrville Texas. Another important recognition was given to him in 2007. Presented by the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association bestowed the Jerry Christen Award to recognize Bill’s contribution to New England folk music.

Currently, Bill has recorded 26 albums; The Happy Wanderer and One More River were winners of the prestigious Parents’ Choice Award, taking a gold medal and silver medal respectively. His song, “All God’s Critters,” has been released as a Simon and Schuster children’s book with illustrations by Caldecott honor-winning artist, Kadir Nelson. “Folk music is rich in the human spirit and experience. I’ve always wanted to bring something of value to people through my songs.” With these thoughts, Bill continues to drive the highways and back roads of the country year after year, bringing his music to listeners, young and old.

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Cormac McCarthy grew up in towns where the economies teetered on marginal sustenance from logging, and paper and woolen mills. It wasn’t until his sister made a visit home from college, bringing an armful of recordings of Dylan, Baez, and Eric Andersen, that things clicked musically for McCarthy: he traded his clarinet for a Western Auto guitar, purchasing the Black Diamond strings across the street at the barber shop.

In his own college years, Cormac studied literature and music and took a great liking to the works of James Joyce and Mississippi John Hurt. He spent most of his time reading, playing guitar, and working in the local mills to pay for school. College roommate, Bill Morrissey, helped encourage Cormac to make his music more public, and a stint of shared local gigs and storytelling marathons ensued. A trip west followed college, as did an array of different jobs including construction worker, truck driver, street singer, and a season as a migrant worker. Through his music Cormac has succeeded in bringing his lyrical magic to some of these rougher edges of life.

Cormac was nominated for both Outstanding Folk/Acoustic Act, and Outstanding Folk/Acoustic Album by the Boston Music Awards. Cormac was honored to be one of the artists asked to perform in Boston’s WUMB Folk Radio 10th Anniversary Celebration. He has been invited three times to the stage of the Newport Folk Festival, and twice to appear on NPR’s “Mountain Stage” Live radio show. A fan favorite and regular at the Hartland Folk Festival and a frequent special guest to many of the performances by the most popular musicians of the genre. He writes and sings of a heartfelt, sometimes funny, sometimes desperate, sometimes glorious world of common people, struggles, hope, relationships, madness, and love. He sings the poetry of real life with a silky baritone voice and just enough grit.