Nashville's Rod Picott at the me&thee on November 7

On Friday, November 7, Rod Picott will make his first appearance at the me&thee. Rod’s hangdog lyrics and deadpan delivery have the ability to strike a chord with anyone who has a heart. Opening the show is Radoslav Lorković, who has taken on an unusually broad musical spectrum and refined it into his distinctive piano playing style. Doors will 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.

The son of a welder from rural New England, Rod Picott is a masterful songwriter and soulful singer who carries with him as fine a suitcase of songs as you’ll find anywhere. Slaid Cleaves, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Fred Eagelsmith have recorded Rod Picott songs. A former construction worker who hung up his tools when he released his debut CD in 2000, Picott has carved a career for himself with a run of six beautifully crafted self released CDs over the last 13 years and a well earned reputation as an engaging, emotion fueled performer. Hang Your Hopes On Crooked Nail, produced by RS Field (Billy Joe Shaver, Justin Townes Earle, Hayes Carll) is a collection of carefully crafted songs of rugged truth and beauty. Recorded at Middletree Studios in East Nashville, the CD highlights Picott’s particular gift for exploring complex themes in common language. The eleven songs on Hang Your Hopes On a Crooked Nail offer an unblinking albeit wry gaze into our common heart and a clenched fist of defiance against the trials that tear at our humanity.

Drawing from a multitude of influences ranging from elegant classical and jazz styles to the rawest, most basic blues, country and soul, Radoslav Lorković has a way with his favorite instrument: the piano. His tenure on the R&B and folk circuits has culminated in five critically acclaimed solo recordings and numerous appearances on the recordings of and performances with artists including Odetta, Jimmy LaFave, Greg Brown, Richard Shindell, and Ellis Paul and many others. His thirty-year touring career has led him from the taverns of the upper Mississippi River to the castles of Italy, The Canary Islands, The Yup’ik villages of Alaska, The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Lorković currently tours the world regularly appearing at prestigious events such as the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, WOMAD, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa folk festivals, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Mountain Stage, Prairie Home Companion, and eTown.

Tickets for the performance by Rod Picott with Radoslav Lorkovic opening are $18 in advance and $21 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 Arnould 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: November 14, 2014 – An Evening with John McCutcheon