Slaid Cleaves grew up in Maine, now lives in Texas, writes lots of songs, makes records and travels all over. He says he “tries to be good” too! Opening the show is Brendan Hogan, a local singer-songwriter. He believes that blues is at the core of all meaningful popular music.

Born on June 9, 1964, in Berwick, Maine, Slaid Cleaves grew up amid dairy farms, abandoned sawmills and the ever-encroaching suburban strip malls. The first of four kids, Cleaves was picking though the family record collection at the age of three, beginning a lifelong fascination with the music of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, the Everly Brothers and Woody Guthrie. He began his career as a “busker,” singing on the streets of Cork, Ireland, while attending college there in 1985. Returning to the U.S., he formed the roots-rocking Moxie Men in 1989, playing extensively throughout New England and winning a semi-finalis­t slot in Musician Magazine’s best unsigned band contest.

Having outgrown the small but vital music scene in Portland, Maine, he landed in the roots-rock Mecca of Austin, Texas, in 1991. There, he rose swiftly through the ranks of the local singer-songwriter scene. In 1992, he won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk competition, an award previously given to such striking talents as Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and Steve Earle. By 1996, he had signed to Rounder Records and released No Angel Knows, which attracted widespread critical acclaim. Broke Down, which followed in 2000, reached beyond the cult audience he had attracted and gave him a national following. The Austin Chronicle dubbed it “the first great Texas album of the 21st century,” while the Chicago Sun-Times noted that he “has fashioned a timeless yet fresh sound rooted in the best storytelling tradition of the great singer-songwriters.”

Cleaves wrote most of the songs for 2004’s Wishbones while hiding out in a country cabin. He also aimed to make more of a band album, one that rocked harder than his past efforts. In 2006 he released Unsung, a collection of songs written by other singer-songwriters including Graham Weber, J.J. Baron, Michael O’Connor (who often tours with Cleaves), and Adam Carroll. His latest album, Everything You Love will be Taken Away, released in 2009, marks a departure from his previous work. It is his most political and least romantic album to date. The feel bad album title should be a dead giveaway right off, but the subject matter skirts into some bleak territory. Many reviewers feel it is his best effort by far to date.

. . .

Following 10 years in radio as host and producer at WERS and WGBH FM, Brendan Hogan has released his first full-length studio album, Long Night Coming. Hogan started his career in music at Emerson College in 1999 working for the school’s acclaimed student-run station, WERS, 88.9. Upon leaving WERS in 2002, Brendan was hired by Boston NPR-affiliate, WGBH, 89.7, to take over a popular long-running music program there. Long Night Coming features original roots, modern folk, and blues-based songs, as well as two familiar standards in the folk and country genres. Hogan’s work in songwriting and performing has seen him share stages with Geoff Muldaur, Ray Bonneville, Eilen Jewell, Les Sampou, Kris Delmhorst, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, Spider John Koerner, Brooks Williams, and others, and he has recently headlined Club Passim, performed at the WUMB Music Fest (aka Boston Folk Festival), and showcased for the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association and the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance conference. The Boston Phoenix has called Hogan “a distinctive new musical voice.”

Photo by Yoon S. Byun

• I’m glad I found Slaid Cleaves, because my life would have been poorer without him. You’ll fee the same, I think, when you listen to this beautifully crafted album. Listen, go to one of Slaid’s shows, take a friend, and pass on the news: not all the good guys wear hats. Stephen King
• [Slaid Cleaves is a] sharply observant songwriter with a deep appreciation for the ageless fundamentals of folk, country, and rock . . . one of the country’s most compelling roots artists. Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
• . . .
• On Brendan Hogan:
  
  If you like Bob Dylan you’ll love Long Night Coming.
  
  The album is mostly soft and very pretty with light country and Celtic accents. Some songs like “Rock Cast in the Sea” and “Big Black Car” are larger and more swingin’. “Rock Cast into the Sea” is a fast, accordion-involved piece and really stands out on the album which shows Hogan’s versatility.
  
  All the lyrics are balladic or poetic and finely composed. The title track “Long Time Coming” is a beautiful and metaphoric piece, with soft but soulful vocals. Deli Magazine New England
• The strength of originals like the wistful “Nothing Belongs to Me” and the rambunctious, blues-fueled “Big Black Car” lies in Brendan Hogan’s chiseled, unhurried performing style and his direct manner of storytelling. The Cambridge songwriter allows each sculpted note of his acoustic guitar to assume its correct emotional weight, and his lightly dusty voice reso­nates with a Northeastern twang mellowed by a sense of experience that extends well beyond his years and into the roots of his inspirations. TED DROZDOWSKI, Boston Phoenix