Jill Sobule opens Winter Season at the me&thee in Marblehead

Singer-songwriter, Jill Sobule, rose to fame on the strength of her 1995 hit single "I Kissed a Girl," and “Super Model” which was on the soundtrack of the popular film, Clueless. Jill Sobule’s songs feature strong character studies, insightful perspectives about culture, and simultaneously tug your heartstrings and tap your funny bones. Andrew Delaney is equally and uniquely talented and opens the show. The show is Friday, February 1 at 8:00 p.m. The me&thee coffeehouse is at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 28 Mugford Street, Marblehead.

Sobule’s “I Kissed a Girl” was cool long before Katy Perry delivered a huge hit with the same title. Sobule fans were already well aware of her distinct talent and she has cultivated a hard-core group of fans who love the quirky songs and her brilliant style of storytelling. Many music journalists have cited that her folk-inflected compositions share many of the same elements as those by some iconic songwriters such as Warren Zevon, Harry Nillson, Loudon Wainwright III, and Randy Newman.

The New York Times cites Jill for making “grown-up music for an adolescent age” and her latest recording, Nostalgia Kills turns her warm wit and poet’s eye on herself more than ever before, revisiting moments from throughout her life that made her into the person she is today. It’s an especially poignant look back at childhood — “exorcizing some junior high school demons,” as she puts it. For all its graceful, funny and heartbreaking explorations of awkward youth and grown-up regrets, Nostalgia Kills is as of-the-moment as anything in Jill Sobule’s catalog. Through her own experiences, she explores issues our society still collectively struggles with and gently skewers our tendency to dwell on the past at the expense of addressing the present. As she sings on the title track: “We look at ourselves in a long row of mirrors/We get smaller and smaller with each passing year/We have to keep moving or die.”

Andrew Delaney of Arlington, TX has been an unorthodox voice in the songwriter scene for a decade. In that time, he has self-released nine full-length albums, won numerous accolades for his writing, and had his songs recorded and performed by artists all over the United States. He is a consummate storyteller, often hilarious and heavy in the same breath. Delaney’s ability to entertain even while speaking on the darkest of subjects led Rich Warren of WFMT Radio, Chicago to call him “The Alfred Hitchcock of singer-songwriters.”

Tickets for the Jill Sobule with Andrew Delaney opening are $22 in advance and $25 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 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.