We kick off the fall season by welcoming back the much acclaimed Cambridge band, Session Americana. They graced our stage last October and also played at the opening night of the Marblehead Arts Festival this past summer. The band has received many nominations in Boston for “best live act” and “best Americana act” and in 2006 was named “best roots act” by the Improper Bostonian. You will not want to miss this “roots super group.”

Session Americana (which consists of Jim Fitting, Jon Bistline, Sean Staples, Billy Beard, Dinty Child and Ry Cavanaugh) sit tightly around a small cafe table, ambient mics tuned to catch the whole sound of the voices and instruments: a suitcase drum kit, an old electric bass, a bunch of acoustic instruments, a field organ. This format feels very theatrical and though the musicians face each other, the audi­ence feels drawn into the circle by the warmth, joy and camaraderie that emanate outward by the all-star cast of musicians seated around the table. What keeps fans coming back show after show is the same thing that any audience member longs for: great songs performed by a great band. The six core members of the band have brought enviable careers worth of experience to the “table,” featuring (current and former) members of Treat Her Right, Patty Griffin, Lori McKenna, The The, Dennis Brennan, and Kris Delmhorst. Session Americana has grown from a ragtag jam at a local pub to a regional institution, playing gigs from church coffeehouses to urban nightclubs to regional festival tents to large halls.

The band’s latest CD, Diving for Gold, marks a series of changes for Session Americana. The most notable transition is from founding bass player, Kimon Kirk, to Jon Bistline, whose original song, “I Can’t Get Out,” is the first track on the new album. Both Kirk and Bistline perform on the record, though Kimon has since moved to the West Coast where he continues to play music. The focus of the album is towards original material — a departure for a band that has focused on songs from its immediate community of friends and public domain material. Paul Q. Kolderie and Co. (Pixies, Radiohead, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Throwing Muses, Morphine, and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones) brought a touch of old-fashioned producing as well as a thick soup of sonic fidelity to the sessions, whereas the band’s previous recordings relied on a communal spontaneity for their inspiration. With developed material and a now “broken in” Bistline on bass, Session Americana has won over a whole new audience with their intimate but highly entertaining performing style.

• The cream of the Somerville/Cambridge roots music community. No Depression
• Session Americana is loose the way you want a band to be and tight the way you want a band to be. Kris Delmhorst
• Every set is that magical night at the campfire that you experienced when you were a kid and never forgot; it stayed with you and made you want to play music . . . and you wished it would never end. Bill Janovitz, Buffalo Tom