Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.—RUTLAND—The folk duo Hungrytown is appearing in concert at the Rutland Unitarian Universalist Church at 117 West St. This will be a coffeehouse-style concert with some table seating and refreshments available for purchase. The 1895 marble Unitarian Universalist Church offers an intimate, comfortable, family-friendly venue and has a long history of hosting coffeehouse concerts, with the latest series beginning in the 1990s. The performance space is known for its excellent acoustics.
After more than a decade of world-wide touring and three album releases, Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson—otherwise known as the folk duo Hungrytown—have earned a reputation for the quality and authenticity of their songwriting. “It’s great to hear an act eschew sentimentality in favor of honesty and to prove that you don’t have to go raiding the memory of others to find the stuff that really good songs are made of,” said Jedd Beaudoin of Popmatters.
Hall and Anderson met in New York City, where they had already been performing regularly—Hall as a jazz singer, and Anderson as a drummer for a variety of garage bands. Their introduction to folk music came later, when a close friend—who died young due to a tragic misdiagnosis—entrusted to them her collection of 1960s folk albums and her guitar (which has since been featured on all of their albums). Inspired by the grit and true-to-life experiences she heard in these traditional ballads, Hall was inspired to write the lyrics that later became her first songs, aided by Anderson’s flair for musical arrangement. Soon afterwards, Hall released two solo albums, “Rebecca Hall Sings!” (2000) and “Sunday Afternoon” (2002), both produced by Anderson. In the winter of 2003, the duo quit their boring desk jobs, moved to the green hills of Vermont, and decided to pursue a full-time career as touring musicians. They released their first CD, “Hungrytown” in 2008, “Any Forgotten Thing,” in 2011, and “Further West” in 2015. Hungrytown’s music has received extensive radio airplay worldwide and has appeared on several television shows, including the Independent Film Channel’s hit series, “Portlandia.”
Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are available online at 802Tix.com or www.hungrytown.net. Tickets are $12 in advance (online or box office) and $15 at the door. For more information call the 802Tix Box Office at 802-775-9500, UU Church of Rutland at 802-775-0850 or visit rutlanduu.org.
