Outstanding band, Night Tree, opens me&thee's 49th season

Night Tree, heralded as one of the most riveting bands in the Northeast, makes their debut at theme&theeon September 7 as the venerable coffeehouse’s first show of the fall season. The members of the band are conservatory-trained musicians and have developed a unique sound by mixing two fiddles, cello, accordion, saxophone, percussion and the occasional viola and mandolin. Marbleheader Nora Tirrell opens the show. The me&thee coffeehouse is at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 28 Mugford Street, Marblehead. The show begins at 8:00 p.m.

Though each member of American/Swedish Night Tree originates from a different musical world, the six members have come together to a create a new sound that is unique to their instrumentation and musical voice, both attracting and bewildering enthusiastic crowds while connecting folk music lovers, café radio junkies, jazz enthusiasts, free-improvisers, and beyond. Each artist’s personality is given a spot to emerge and they have learned to get inside each other’s musical minds, creating one blossoming and unpredictable wave of sound.

As acoustic sextet Night Tree reaches their two-year anniversary, Brian O’Donovan, Senior DJ at Boston’s own radio station, WGBH, calls them “One of the most exciting roots-based music groups to emerge from the New England Conservatory in many years. Their individual chops and adventurous approach make Night Tree a band to watch for.”

In September of 2016, six wildly diverse musicians came together unexpectedly within the walls of Boston’s New England Conservatory to form a new acoustic band, Night Tree. The group, all students at NEC, were named the Conservatory’s Wild Card Honors Ensemble for 2016-2017. Awards for this title included a sponsorship from NEC, a headlining performance at the historic Jordan Hall, and a year of working with Winifred Horan, fiddler and co-founder of Irish super-band, SOLAS. Night Tree’s their debut album was produced by Séamus Egan, another founding member of SOLAS. Their album was ranked in the top 15 of every category in the compilation by Richard Gillman from FOLKDJ-L playlists based on 12,417 airplays from 127 different D.J. Their sophomore album will be released in fall 2018 and will be available at this show.

Nora Tirrell is a 22-year old pop/folk singer-songwriter from Marblehead, MA She is a recent graduate of Berklee College of Music and majored in Music Business and Songwriting. She teaches music along with gigging regularly in the Northeast. While at Marblehead High, Nora participated in numerous American Choral Director Association honor choirs (national and regional), high school chorus, and in the award-winning a cappella group, The Jewel Tones. Nora’s debut album, All These Words, is available now on Spotify and iTunes.

Tickets for Night Tree with supporting act, Nora Tirrell, are $18 in advance and $21 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.

Next concert: Friday, September 14, 2018: Joyce Andersen, Harvey Reid and special guest Dave Mattacks!