Excellent singer/songwriter and
contemporary folk music in Monmouth County,
at UUCMC, 1475 W. Front St., Lincroft, NJ
Earth Room Concerts returns this fall!
Saturday, 10/12/24, 7:30 PM
Ash & Eric
Under the moniker The Promise is Hope, Ash & Eric have released two full-length albums, “Where We’ve Been & Where We’re Going” (2015) and “Every Seed Must Die” (2018) before changing their band name to Ash & Eric in 2021.
Their warm harmonies, swirling acoustic guitars, and easy stage presence have earned them a dedicated following in the emerging US folk scene. Their independent 9-song release, “Sure”, was recorded, mixed and produced by Eric at a boarding school in Western Massachusetts, and will be accompanied by a feature-length film, releasing June 2024.
They have performed on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Stage (Hillsdale, PA), won the CT Folks Grassyhill Songwriter Competition, and performed at the CT Folk and Black Bear Americana Festivals. Ash & Eric have been nominated for New England Music Awards, won many Worcester Music Awards, and was offered a Semi-Formal Showcase at the 2019 NERFA Conference in Stamford, CT.
Their musings reflect the hope and pain we all experience, sung in voices as vulnerable and honest as their lyrics. Their songs feel like a warm welcome, a shoulder to lean on and a hand to hold at the end of a long day. The pair continues to say “YES” to the power of vulnerability, simplicity, and new starts.
Sunday, 12/8/24, 7:00 PM
Peter Mulvey
Peter Mulvey has been a songwriter, road-dog, raconteur, and almost-poet since before he can remember. In 1989 he spent a year in Ireland, busking on the streets of Dublin and hitchhiking to whatever gigs he could find. Back stateside, he spent a couple years gigging through the bars of his native Midwest before taking off for Boston, where he returned to subway busking and coffeehouses. Small shows led to larger shows, which eventually led to regional and then national touring. The wheels have not stopped since.
Twenty albums, one illustrated book, thousands of live performances, a TEDx talk, a decades-long association with the National Youth Science Camp, opening tours and gigs for luminaries such as Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, Emmylou Harris and Chuck Prophet, appearances on NPR, an annual autumn tour by bicycle, emceeing festivals, hosting his own Lamplighter Sessions for years in Boston and in Wisconsin... he has built his life's work on collaboration, on an instinct for the eclectic and the vital.
Saturday, 1/25/25, 7:30 PM
Crys Matthews
Already being hailed as “the next Woody Guthrie,” Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. A powerful lyricist whose songs of compassionate dissent reflect her lived experience as what she lightheartedly calls "the poster-child for intersectionality," Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation called Matthews’s gift "a reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides." She is made for these times and, with the release of her hope-fueled, love-filled social justice album Changemakers, Matthews hopes to take her place alongside some of her heroes in the world of social-justice music like Sweet Honey in the Rock and Holly Near. Of Matthews, ASCAP VP & Creative Director Eric Philbrook says, “By wrapping honest emotions around her socially conscious messages and dynamically delivering them with a warm heart and a strong voice, she lifts our spirits just when we need it most in these troubled times.
“I believe in hope,” Matthews said. “As a social-justice songwriter, it is my duty to keep breathing that hope and encouragement into the people who listen to my music.” And, from the title track to the last track, Changemakers does just that all while tackling some heavy topics like immigration, the opioid crisis, Black Lives Matter, and gun safety to name a few. Crys Matthews's thoughtful, realistic and emotional songs speak to the voice of our generation and remind us why music indeed soothes the soul.