Maura Kennedy Brings Music And A Non-Stop Smile to The Port Library

It’s not often that one thinks of a pop-rock performer as literary (sometimes not even literate), yet Wednesday night’s Soundswap performance by Maura Kennedy proved that such a thing can happen, and when it does…. Wow! Kennedy, part of the duo The Kennedys with her husband Pete Kennedy, performed at the in support of her new album “Parade of Echoes.”

Dressed in a pink summer dress and red stockings, and armed with a bright red guitar and a huge smile, Kennedy was backed by a crew of primo musicians including her husband, Pete Kennedy, on bass, Andy Burton on keyboards, Cadence Carroll on backing vocals, and Tommy Allen on drums.

The songs on Kennedy’s album are diverse, unusual, and reflect her love of both music and reading. For a musician like this, the library was a very appropriate venue.  Two of her songs were spawned by novels: “Time Will Steal Your Heart” was inspired by The Time Travelers Wife, and “Some Kind of Life” came from Kennedy’s reading of Little Children. One of the standouts was the song “The Thing with Feathers,” inspired by Emily Dickenson’s poem, “Hope is a Thing with Feathers.” And how many pop-rock musicians manage to weave William Shakespeare into their songs? Yet, in “Dreamless Sleep,” Kennedy pays homage to the famous bard by using his line “Sleep that knits the raveled sleeve of time.”

Kennedy’s tales of her songs’ inspirations were fascinating glimpses into the workings of a songwriter's mind.  With her megawatt infectious smile and her down to earth manner, Kennedy charmed the audience as she described the experiences and musicians that inspired her songs.

It’s impossible to pigeonhole her music, or her vocal sound, into a particular genre. Some songs, such as “The Thing with Feathers” evoked Suzanne Vega. But then there was her Patsy Cline-ish “Shadows with the Lonely” and her Buddy Holly-ish “Make it Last.” “Roy Orbison melody, Everly Brothers harmony” is how Kennedy described her idea of a perfect song.

Kennedy also did a three-song solo set, which included “Big Star Song” inspired by the untimely death of Alex Chilton of the bands The Box Tops and Big Star, as well as two other songs that are not yet on any album.

With intelligent and deep lyrics, unusual chords, and interwoven vocal and harmony lines, Kennedy’s work is standout, and the Port Washington library crowd clearly appreciated that as they demanded an encore after her set. Pete Kennedy, well-known in the music scene on his own, played only a supporting role to his talented wife’s performance. As a duo, The Kennedys have performed pretty much everywhere – including at both inaugurations of Bill Clinton. Port Washington residents were exceptionally fortunate to have the library provide such a high caliber of musician at a free concert.