WUMB Member Concert with Eliza Gilkyson

If you are a WUMB Member you know that you can go to free WUMB Member Concerts. We have a Member Concert with Eliza Gilkyson, Rebecca Loebe, Betty Soo, and Bianca De Leon at 7 PM on Thursday, September 24th at David Friend Recital Hall at Berklee College of Music. The event is hosted by Berklee's Professional Education Division, Austin to Boston: Cutting Through The Noise.

Each of the featured artists are based out of Austin, Texas and are visiting Berklee to teach master classes, chat with students, and to perform. Eliza Gilkyson comes from a musical family. Her father is Terry Gilkyson the folk musician, and her brother Tony is a guitarist. Gilkyson has been releasing music since 1969. Rebecca Loebe competed on Adam Levine's team during the first season of NBC's The Voice and has toured with the likes of Ellis Paul and Raina Rose. Betty Soo has won awards from the Sisters Folk Festival, the Wildflower! Festival, Mountain Stage and more. Bianca De Leon is an internationally renowned folk singer who has had her music featured on film soundtracks and in video games.

You must be a WUMB member to attend Member Concerts. Become one here.

-Kendall Stewart

WUMB Member Concert with Joan Shelley

One of the perks of being a WUMB Member is that you are able to attend free WUMB Member Concerts. Our next Member Concert is with Joan Shelley at 12 PM on Saturday, September 12th at Club Passim. 

Joan Shelley is a singer/songwriter based in Louisville, Kentucky. Her influences range from 1960's folk music to classic country tunes. Shelley frequently collaborates with other musicians serving as a member of the trio Maiden Radio and even releasing entire records with them including Joe Manning for Outside Stay Outside  and Daniel Martin Moore for Farthest Field. Over and Even his her third solo record, out September 4th. 

You must be a WUMB Member to attend Member Concerts. Become one here. 

-Kendall Stewart

WUMB Member Concert: Sarah Blacker

·         Sarah Blacker was born and raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts and upon graduating from Wellesley High School chose to stay in the area, attending Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee Ms. Blacker studied classical vocal performance and Music Therapy, a form of expressive therapy in which therapists use music to help clients improve their mental and physical health. She worked full-time in the field upon graduation from Berklee and continues on a part-time basis in order to balance with her music career. It is only fitting that her message is, "Songs save lives."

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·         Since 2009 Sarah Blacker has released three albums and an EP, and her new record In Waves is slated for an April 21st release through a Pledge Music campaign. She also took home the 2013 New England Music Award for Female Performer of The Year and her music has been featured on MTV's Jersey Shore and FriendZone.

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·         If you would like to attend WUMB Member Concerts you can become a member today here or by calling the membership office at 617-287-6902.

Chris Smither – 12 minutes to Show Time

Folks ask me, from time to time, what doing the sound for a WUMB Member Concert is like.

This is what I do, and it's like this every time. . . the delicious run-up to a Members' Concert.

This time, it started about 6 weeks ago when I was told the date, the time and the artist, Chris Smither!. As the event approaches, my anticipation mounts as I review Chris' CD releases, and remember the last time I worked with him a decade ago. With a week to go now, it's constantly on my mind; which songs will he do in my “private show” -- the sound check at 6pm?

By the day of the show, I'll be numbed by the excitement, and hardly notice the hard work of gathering all of the equipment, lugging it across the UMass Boston campus to the auditorium, setting it all up and fixing the technical bugs, working shoulder-to-shoulder with my great team of helpers.

Then it will all happen too fast – “Hi, Chris, great to see you again!...guitar sounds a little muddy, OK how's this?...a little less vocal in the monitor, you got it”

12 minutes to show time - audience enters, they're as psyched as me - lights dim, raffle, first song, first Q & A, second & third songs,

ThenThingsSpeedUpAndBeforeIKnowItI'mEmotionallyCaughtUpInChris'WorldTheAudienceRoarsItsDelightAndWeSlamIntoTheEncoreAnd

What just happened?

Awash in endorphins, we take all the equipment apart, load it up, roll it back to the radio station and put it all away. Handshakes and congratulations all around as my team assures me they won't miss helping out on the next one. Then the drive home, and the first listen to the broadcast recording.

This is what I do. And I can't think of anything better.

- Grady Moates

P.S. The photo above was taken at the Member Concert we did with Red Molly, in the same auditorium that we'll be using for the Chris Smither show this week. The green arrow points to me, and where I typically set up and engineer the sound for these concerts.