Ladies Play the Blues in Marblehead

Three of New England’s premiere blues artists take the me&thee stage on Friday, November 1 at 8 pm. Danielle Miraglia (2019 Female Artist of the Year New England Music award winner), Kerri Powers, and Erin Harpe guarantee a night of hard-rocking, soulful music with an emphasis on the female side of the blues. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the me&theeis located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford Street in Marblehead, MA

Danielle Miraglia is like a musical butterfly who has been granted unlimited creative metamorphoses. Unlike so many Boston artists who attended one of the city’s many music schools, Miraglia graduated from Emerson College with a creative writing degree. One fateful night she went to an open mic at the famous, now-defunct Kendall Café just to watch and absorb. It didn’t take long for her to realize – “That’s what I want to do: Get on stage to do my storytelling that way.” Since then, her evolution as a songwriter and performer has been remarkable. She quickly won a faithful national and regional following for her skillful folk/blues guitar-picking and musical storytelling. Her creative soul thrives in a vast range of musical styles. Besides her solo act, she fronts a fine band satirically named Glory Junkies. She also plays electric as well as acoustic guitar, all with a powerful, soulful energy that pays homage to her top musical influences, Janis Joplin, Prince, and the Stones.

Kerri Powerswrites songs expressing sentiments that resonate with just about everyone. Powers has taken an unconventional approach to her music career and its inevitable hurdles. Early on, her creative instincts stretched to encompass music, painting, and writing. She composed her first songs at the age of nine. Her creative instincts seem to come naturally: Bing Crosby was a distant relative on her father’s side and her mother’s family claims a kinship to Herman Melville. In her teens, Powers began performing in coffeehouses throughout New England; then, after marriage, motherhood, and divorce, she rediscovered her passion for music and is taking the stage again. Powers’ latest recording, Starseeds, includes a great selection of songs that highlight her skills as a songwriter, player, and an interpreter of classic songs. What she does with “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Blind Faith is a wonder. Her songs can be sassy, poignant, and downright dynamic and her guitar playing is consistently strong.

Erin Harpe, winner of the 2018 Boston Blues Challenge, has been called one of the most dynamic, talented and exciting roots-rocking blues women on the scene by Living Blues Magazine. Growing up in Maryland, she learned finger-style blues guitar from her guitarist dad (Neil Harpe) and from watching local Piedmont blues luminaries such as John Cephas and Phil Wiggins, John Jackson, Eleanor Ellis, Warner Williams, and others at the famed Archie’s Barbershop in Washington, D.C. When she moved to Boston, Harpe put out two acoustic blues albums, Blues Roots (2002) and Delta Blues Duets (2008), an album of duets with her dad, in between touring and releasing five albums with her rock band Lovewhip (with hubby/bass player Jim Countryman). Erin’s soulful vocal style and accomplished guitar playing has won her many fans, including guitar greats Ronnie Earl and Billy Gibbons. She is quickly becoming recognized on the international blues scene.

Tickets for Ladies Play the Blues are $20 in advance and $23 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 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 listening rooms 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: November 8 -- Sally Rogers and Claudia Schmidt