Legendary Loudon Wainwright III appears in Marblehead

On Friday, April 22 the Me & Thee welcomes back Loudon Wainwright III, a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor to its stage. Marblehead’s own Kat Quinn opens the show. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. for this 8:00 p.m. show at the Me & Thee Coffeehouse which is located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford St.

Wainwright has an incredible number of career highlights. He’s a 2010 Grammy winner for Best Traditional Folk Album and he has two previous Grammy nominations for "I'm Alright" (1985) and "More Love Songs" (1986).

A reviewer for The New York Times praised Wainright, writing, "Mr. Wainwright has proved to be far and away the most candid diarist among the singer-songwriters who brought confessional poetry into popular song... Mr. Wainwright wrings more human truth out of his contradiction than any other songwriter of his generation."

His songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Mose Allison, Big Star, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and Rufus Wainwright among others.

And beyond the music credentials, Wainwright adds some film acting credits: Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up" (for which he also recorded the soundtrack) and "The 40 Year Old Virgin;" Christopher Guest's "For Your Consideration;" Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown;" Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator;" Tim Burton's "Big Fish;" "28 Days" alongside Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen and Steve Buscemi; "Jacknife" with Robert De Niro and Ed Harris; and Neil Simon's "The Slugger's Wife." Needless to say, Loudon is full of some wonderful stories which add intimacy and candor to his live shows.

Kat Quinn is an indie-pop musician based in New York City. She comes from Marblehead and discovered music at an early age, and got involved with playing drums, piano and guitar. But it wasn’t until college that she discovered the piece that tied them all together: writing. The writing quickly turned her toward a new vocation. Quinn's personality lights up each show.

“You’d think she was born on stage” says No Depression music magazine.

In March 2013, Quinn was featured on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s" Battle of the Instant Songwriters, where she wrote and performed an original song called “Clouds are People Too,” gaining fans nationwide. Her songs have been featured in film, commercials and notable publications such as American Songwriter and Pop Matters. Quinn released her latest EP, "Rust to Gold" in October 2015. It was produced by Adam Rhodes (Bon Iver collaborator). The EP’s tracks have been praised by tastemakers such as DiffuserFM who said “Quinn’s gorgeous vocals and the delicate accompanying visuals make for a long-last impact; her sentiments toward the song are deeply personal and quite relatable.”

Tickets for the performance by Loudon Wainwright III with Kat Quinn opening are $30 in advance and $33 at the door. Tickets are available online at www.meanthee.org and can be purchased in person in Marblehead at either the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore or the Arnould Gallery. For information and directions, call 781-631-8987 or check the website www.meandthee.org.