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Tender Mercies: American Roots Summer Festival Set for The Sheen Center, 7/15-23
By: Tyler Peterson Jun. 01, 2016
Inspired by the Oscar-winning film Tender Mercies, written by the great American storyteller Horton Foote and starring Robert Duvall & Ellen Barkin, the festival will feature artists who celebrate colorful American stories and songs about people on the margins, often seeking a second chance. Echoing the musical interests of the younger generation in The Sheen Center's neighborhood, the festival also fits this year's mission to explore mercy and forgiveness as part of Pope Francis' "Year of Mercy," alongside other programming such as the sold-out engagement of David Mamet's The Anarchist and the current gallery exhibit Die Jim Crow featuring art from prison inmates.
NORTH / SOUTH: Minton Sparks & Kevin Kling
July 15 - 16, 8:00PM Black Box Theater, Tickets: $20
Two soulful minds join forces for an evening of raucous storytelling. A poet, playwright, author, speaker-songwriter, and-above all else-a storyteller, Nashville's Minton Sparks dazzles audiences with her spoken word/honky-tonk hybrid performances. Kevin Kling is known for his hilarious recounts of true events on NPR's All Things Considered. Kling's autobiographical tales are as enchanting as they are true to life: hopping freight trains, getting hit by lightning, performing his banned play in Czechoslovakia, growing up in Minnesota, and eating things before knowing what they are.
http://mintonsparks.com/ http://www.kevinkling.com/
BOBTOWN
July 19, 7:30PM Loreto Theater, Tickets: $25
With their distinctive original songs and vocal arrangements, NYC-based Bobtown is recognized as taking an unconventional and refreshing approach to the tradition of folk and Americana. WFUV's John Platt chose the quintet as one of his top three music discoveries of 2013, and Americana UK perhaps summed up the band best when they said, "If you're looking for acoustic, Gothic-folk-Americana kissed with gorgeous harmonies then look no further." Bobtown has since released three successful albums: Bobtown, A History of Ghosts, and Trouble I Wrought.
EILEEN IVERS BAND
July 20, 7:30PM Loreto Theater, Tickets: $25
Called "the Jimi Hendrix of the violin" by the New York Times and a "sensation" by Billboard Magazine, Grammy winning and Emmy nominated fiddler Eileen Ivers' talent goes unmatched. Ivers' recording credits include 80+ contemporary and traditional albums, numerous film scores and guest starring appearances with over 40 orchestras. A native New Yorker and daughter of Irish immigrants, Ivers was the original musical star of world-renown Riverdance.
SAM BAKER
July 22, 8:00PM Black Box Theater, Tickets: $20
After almost being killed in a 1986 Peruvian train bombing, Sam Baker has taken time to heal and reconnect with himself-much of which was done through art, poetry, and music. Filled with gratitude and a renewed sense of positivity, Baker's art and music is simple, pure and full of life. Based in Austin, TX, Sam's 2013 album Say Grace made the Rolling Stone's list for the top 10 country music albums of 2013
MARTHA REDBONE ROOTS PROJECT
July 23, 8:00PM Loreto Theater, Tickets: $25
By combining Native American influence with funk and her deep roots in Appalachian folk and Piedmont blues, Martha Redbone's music evokes a world of emotion in its audience. Since bursting into the music scene in 2002, Redbone has earned a reputation as a performer, collaborator, educator, and mentor on a global scale. Her warm melodies transcend time as she tells stories of the Southland since before America was founded.
In addition to the performances, the Festival's artists will also host two workshops:
· MINTON SPARKS: BURN THROUGH YOUR STORY
July 16, 10:00am - 1:00pm / Studio A & B, $100 per person
· BOBTOWN: HARMONY SINGING FROM A-Z
July 23, 2:00-4:00pm / Studio C, $35 per person
Named after the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, best known for his popular radio and TV ministry in the 1950s and 60s, The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, is a project of the Archdiocese of New York with the mission of showcasing works in the performing and visual arts, lectures and symposia that highlight the true, the good, and the beautiful as they have been expressed throughout the ages. The state-of-the-art complex has a 273-seat proscenium theater equipped with five-camera high-definition livestream capability and a multi-track recording studio with thirty-two onstage inputs; an 80-seat black box theater; four rehearsal studios; and an art gallery. This facility is the newest arts center in Manhattan in 35 years and a great addition to the growing artistic community in the East Village/NoHo.
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