Maine singer-songwriter Connor Garvey plays acoustic and electric guitars, ukulele and a loop pedal, and proves you can be optimistic and self-aware without being boring. His clever rhythmic string foundations provide a medium for his most prominent instrument, his voice. Though Garvey has been shaping his musical craft for over 10 years, it has only been since October 2008 that he has focused on music as a full-time vocation. Since this time Connor has been touring around the country in his Volvo, playing festivals and house concerts, opening and headline slots at many of the country’s best acoustic venues.

Photo by Adam Bryant Chittenden

While staying true to the musical traditions set forth by those from so long ago, Shannon Wurst is a modern twist. By pairing old with new, her music has a truly timeless sound. Growing up in a musical family in Arkansas, Wurst’s no stranger to picking parties and house concerts. In 2009, many took notice of this rising star. She was a finalist in the 2009 Kerrville New Folk Songwriting competition, named one of Folk Alley’s Best Artists, and was the winner of the New Song Contest at the Walnut Valley Music Festival in Winfield, Kansas. She also was commissioned by the Department of Arkansas Heritage to write and perform songs about Arkansas for school children. Garrison Keillor picked her as semi-finalist for Prairie Home Companion’s Talented Twenties Contest. In addition to all of this she has been touring around the country in support of her well-received album What’s More Honest Than a Song?

Tall Heights began with collaboration between Holy Cross students and childhood friends Tim Harrington and Paul Wright and their incredible talent. Tall Heights has wowed countless audiences on tour around Massachusetts, New England, New York and D.C. With their catchy and refreshing flavor of acoustic/folk/pop, these two have left behind the banal indie/rock drums-and-bass setup. Classically trained cellist Paul Wright soars soulful vocals over his cello. Tim Harrington sports a striking vibrato above folk and rock influenced acoustic guitar. Critics agree: it’s the harmonies — vocal and instrumental alike — that create something so much larger than two quiet fellows in their mid-twenties.

Amy Herrera and Jared Fiske’s voices blend perfectly and their original songs are now taking center stage, garnering the attention of new fans wherever they go. Fiske and Herrera first tested their chemistry as high school sweethearts. Turns out their music together is as sweet for an audience as it is between the two of them. Their CD Till the Sea Disappears receives radio play on Boston’s folk music station, WUMB. Fiske and Herrera bravely blend traditional sounds such as dulcimer, mandolin, and reed organ with instruments not often found in the acoustic genre, for instance, vibraphone, analog synthesizers, and hip hop drum samples.

• The songs of Connor Garvey have that rare and balanced blend of refreshing lyric, inventive guitar work, and mesmerizing grooves, all powered by his clear and agile singing voice. Ranging from funky to sensitive, serious to playful, they convey the kind of inspiration found in a reverent pursuer of life’s depths and joys. Whether it’s hearing him live on stage or on one of his recordings I’m always uplifted and amazed. Chris Cunningham (Storyhill and Basecamp Recording)
• . . . when Connor Garvey stepped up with solid singing and playing, the place was silent and I knew that this acoustic music tradition was in the right hands. Vance Glibert
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• Shannon Wurst is among the rare breed who can make you sit upright and wonder aloud, “who is that?” She is unquestionably arresting. Sing Out!, John Lupton
• Shannon’s voice has the simple mountain purity of Maybelle Carter and Dolly Parton, yet her songs have a timeless and hopeful edge that shines. . . .” Jeff Mosier of Blueground Undergrass
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• . . . a fixture in the city’s folk/rock scene . . . [Tall Heights] played with a high level of craft and a lyrical depth that defies their young faces . . . music that is pretty, passion-laden and catchy as hell. Performer Magazine
• They wowed the audience with a spectacular set . . . beautiful vocal stacks brought raves from the audience, other musicians and some of the press corps in attendance. . . . DON’T MISS THIS GROUP! Mike Landers, Plymouth Folk Festival
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• . . . precise harmonies, polished arrangements and Jared Fiske’s floating, oddly metered guitar playing are a winning formula for some incredible music. Molly Milsau, Minor 7th podcast, Jan/Feb 2008
• . . . finger-plucked guitar melody and crisp vocal harmony remind one of, say, an old-school backyard singalong party at Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash’s house. David Boffa, Worcester Magazine