March 10
$14.00

Each year a few performers are hailed as “Emerging Artists” at the prestigious Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. In layman’s terms, this means that these artists are the ones everyone should keep an eye (and ear) on because they’re surely going to make a name for themselves in the music industry. This evening, we've got two of them.

Alastair Moock was recently signed by international roots record label CoraZong Records. Even they didn’t know what they were getting into. “What shelf does Alastair Moock belong on?” they ask. “Folk? Rock? Roots? Blues? The truth is, his music can’t easily be pinned to any one genre — and that’s just fine with him. It doesn’t seem to bother his growing international audience either. Alastair’s musical style may be hard to classify, but it’s undeniably easy to appreciate. There are two simple reasons: great songs and captivating performances.”

Alastair’s vocals have been compared to John Prine’s, Tom Waits’, and Steve Forbert’s. Those comparisons are fine, but ultimately, Moock’s voice is uniquely Moock’s and so is his exquisite guitar playing and songwriting. As for his lyrics, the Boston Globe deems him one of Boston’s “best and most adventurous songwriters” and the Washington Post declares that “every song is a gem.” Not content to serve up a laundry list of tunes in concert, Moock mixes his own songs with spoken word pieces, stories from the road, and even a bit of American history, providing context for the traditional blues and ballads he includes in every performance.

Moock can be found around the greater Boston area playing with Pastures of Plenty, a band that’s described as his “traveling hootenanny.” Finding a void in the local music scene, Moock started this band to bridge the gaps between the folk and roots rock scenes and between contemporary and traditional musicians, younger and older players. No two shows are alike because the players are constantly changing — players have included Bill Morrissey, Ronnie Earl, Lori McKenna, Barrence Whitfield, the Resophonics, Rachael Davis, and the Silver Leaf Gospel Singers, to name just a few.

Our other Emerging Artist is singer-songwriter Meg Hutchinson, who holds the distinction of leaving a job on an organic lettuce farm in the Berkshires for a less certain future in the music business in Boston. Within no time at all, Meg was getting gigs and causing a buzz in the local music scene. She won a New Folk Award at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas as well as awards at the Rocky Mountain Folk Fest, the Telluride Troubadour Songwriter’s Showcase and the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest in North Carolina — all in one year’s time. In addition, Meg was nominated for a Boston Music Award for best Debut Singer-Songwriter Album of the year in 2001.

Performing Songwriter magazine calls Hutchinson “a master of introspective ballads filled with understated yearning and an exquisite sense of metaphor.” Meg herself describes her musical style as a “lyric-based folk-pop, with a whole lot of small town idealism and one devastating break-up thrown in for good measure.” She cites as influences poet Mary Oliver as well as David Gray, Patty Griffin, Greg Brown, and Shawn Colvin.

“Meg Hutchinson’s songs have a way of making us believe she’s telling the truth, at least as she sees it. In a brooding sea of inscrutable urban songwriters, her whispery, knowable voice feels like it’s sharing her secrets with us.” says the Boston Globe. According to Meg, the songs on her CD “The Crossing” are about “getting beyond” and were written during some difficult times. It’s easy to see why the songs have resonated with her audiences.

Lynn Woodward photo