Tonight we present a co-bill featuring Joe Crookston and Chris O’Brien. “With all the performers out there, an artist has to go beyond good. . . and Joe Crookston does.” (Sing Out! magazine). In February 2009, Crookston’s Able Baker Charlie & Dog was awarded “Album of the Year” by the International Folk Alliance in Memphis, TN. Boston based singer/songwriter Chris O’Brien is most definitely an artist on the rise. Since the release of his February 2007 CD Lighthouse, Chris has caught the attention of many. He was chosen from a pool of nearly 1,000 contestants to appear on Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” in the “People in Their Twenties” talent contest.

Born and raised in rural Ohio, Joe Crookston has Hungarian roots, so there’s a lot of polkas, eastern European food, and a little bit of Gypsy soul in him. Whether it’s his hypnotic guitar sound, bubbling banjo, or short story lyrics, his music draws from his urban adventures and his hometown roots, exuding a remarkable timeless quality. In 1987, The Kent State Folk Festival changed his life. After hearing Harvey Reid and the Horseflies at the festival, Joe sold his electric guitar, bought a steel string and never looked back. He’s a fiddler and a pretty darn good percolating clawhammer banjo player to boot. He has performed throughout the US, at festivals and coffeehouses. Inspired by Woody Guthrie, Joe was awarded a year-long grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to travel around the State of New York, interview local residents, gather stories and write songs based on his experiences. His project is called “Songs of the Finger Lakes.”

Chris O’Brien’s upbringing could hardly be classified as typical. O’Brien was raised in western Massachusetts. He is the son of two women. As the cliche goes “It takes a village to raise a child.” That’s exactly what O’Brien got, a village of talented and supportive people, mostly women, who raised him. Music was an important part of his life from the beginning but it wasn’t until summer camp, when O’Brien was 14, that he discovered his love for the guitar and songwriting. At 21, his passion for performing pushed him to join the renowned Boston music scene, where he met and befriended musicians such as Ellis Paul, Antje Duvekot, and Meg Hutchinson.

O’Brien has made quite a name for himself in Boston’s competitive music scene and it didn’t take long for the rest of New England to catch on. O’Brien has been nominated for a coveted Boston Music Award for male vocalist of the year, as well as being named WUMB’s “New Artist of the Year.” A captivating and engaging performer, O’Brien’s youth belies his maturity as a songwriter and vocalist. A born performer, O’Brien is on the road for most of the year, headlining in clubs from the east coast to the west coast. He’s regularly featured as a headliner at Cambridge’s legendary Club Passim, the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, CA as well as the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. He’s performed at many of the country’s finest festivals including the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival, and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. He has been invited to open for some of the finest songwriters in the country, including Ellis Paul, Cowboy Junkies, Antje Duvekot, David Wilcox, Richard Shindell and Cheryl Wheeler.

Joe Crookston blends a traditional feel into wonderful originals. He’s fond of minor keys, and his quality guitar picking begins and fills many a tune. He is also proficient on banjo, fiddle, and accordion.

There isn’t a weak cut on this collection [Fall Down as the Rain]. Song topics include freedom, reincarnation, decision making, and memories of a grandparent’s gift of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. . . .

With all the performers out there, an artist has to go beyond good . . . and Joe does. This is his third release. He grew up in Ohio and lives in Seattle, but where has he been? Sing Out! Magazine

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Chris O’Brien picks up where Martin Sexton, Richard Thompson and John Gorka leave off, a young writer with his eyes on gentle, melodic horizons and matter of the soul. Club Passim

As a music fan, I live for those moments when I hear a performer for the first time and detect unmistakable magic. It happened with Shawn Colvin in 1989 and Patty Griffin in 1996. Last summer, O’Brien caught my ear. He”s an uncommonly talented lyricist, with a voice that feels comfortable and familiar at first listen. Michael Witthaus Eagle Times, Springfield, VT