Annette Homann

DENI BONET and ANNETTE HOMANN: "EMBRACING a BRACE of VIOLINS", by RON VAZZANO

EMBRACING A BRACE OF WOMEN ON VIOLINS

by Ron Vazzano

When you think of the violin, it’s usually in terms of something classical, something staid— even to the point of being stodgy—melodious, though somewhat somber, and often evocative of a lament in the key of bittersweet. For me, something along the lines of “Ashokan Farewell” by Jay Unger from the hit 1990 PBS mini-series “The Civil War,” readily comes to mind. (Was that 25 years ago already?). All in all, a beautiful instrument to behold, especially when beheld by a virtuoso who can make even an Alpha male weep.

On the other end of the scale, associations might be in the context of bluegrass or hoe down music, and at such times, thought of as a fiddle. Is there a difference between a violin and a fiddle? Not really, though it is a subject open to much discussion, debate and lots of wry commentary. A few one-liners I ran across on line:

When you are buying one, it’s a fiddle. When you are selling one, it’s a violin.
$125 per hour and a tuxedo.
You can’t play a violin barefoot.
A violin has strings, and a fiddle has strangs.
You’ll never find a violinist with a mullet.
A violin sings, but a fiddle dances.
It’s a matter of style. If you have style, it’s a fiddle.

And the people playing it? We tend to think male, with hall-of-fame names like Isaac Stern, Jascha Heifetz, Yehudi Menuhin and Itzak Perlman. In short, we think of violin players (though not fiddlers), as being of rather serious temperament and often rooted in European and “foreign” traditions. What you might call your father’s or grandfather’s violinists. That has changed.

Nowhere is that more in evidence for me, than with two violinists on the New York scene these days, who are turning the instrument and their performance on it, into something that shatters the glass of any stereotypes and preconceived notions.

No, Deni Bonet and Annette Homann are not your father’s fiddlers.

As one music critic noted on a new generation of violinists in this mold, “they are on the whole, female, ultra-virtuosic, career-focused and glamorous besides.” To which I would add specific to these two women, possessing a sense of total performance—including everything from the addition of body movement and choreography, to their banter in between pieces—wit, irony, and sexy besides.

Deni Bonet is a classically trained violinist, whose rather impressive “liner notes” from her website read:

Deni has recorded and performed with Cyndi Lauper, R.E.M., Sarah McLachlin among many others…
performed at Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, and just recently at the White House for President Obama and the First Lady
Her music has been featured on HBO, NBC, American Airlines, several film and modern dance projects, and has been described by the Wall Street Journal as “like Cheryl Crow meets the B-52’s.”

Her unique style is fully on display in a video produced for her single “One in a Million” that was released along with her latest album It’s all good.

I caught her at a gig at the Rockwood Music Hall in downtown Manhattan last month, in a night paying homage to “The Musical History of the Lower East Side,” a musical show created by Charles R. Hale. Deni made even a Stephen Foster medley sound hip. And I had the pleasure over a year ago, of performing a spoken word piece in tandem with arrangements she composed and played specific to a collaboration entitled “Unrequited Love.”

Annette Homann, classically trained and born in Germany :

Has been performing since the age of six
She has toured throughout Europe, China, Central America, Canada and the U.S. and at various venues…
Including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Space, New World Stages, and Brooklyn Bowl
Her extended techniques, and singing combining elements of bluegrass, blues, pop and classical with a theatrical vibe—the violin used in non-traditional ways, often replacing the guitar, and sometimes percussion— are in evidence on her recent CD, “Heimatgefühle” (German for “feelings of home”).

I got to see her live last month at a private art gallery event sponsored by Artists Without Walls in Chelsea. Her performance in covering Adele’s Skyfall, the theme song of the 2012 James Bond film of the same name, was at once both sexy and witty (and barefoot, defying a previously noted one- liner). It brought down the house.

And while I have not caught a live performance of so called “hip-hop” violinist Lindsey Stirling, whose Crystallize video on YouTube has gotten an unfathomable 119,000,000 views since uploaded in February of 2012 (is that a misprint?), Deni and Annette are every bit as good and dynamic in my book. (And Muse-Letter). And does Lindsey Stirling drop by McSorely’s Old Ale House on a rainy spring afternoon, take out her violin in the backroom and play? Annette has.

I wonder what Itzak Perlman thinks about all of this sort of thing?

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Ron Vazzano, a writer, poet and actor, has been a frequent contributor to this website as well as performer at Artist Without Walls monthly showcases. You can read his column Muse Letter by clicking here.

POET CONNIE ROBERTS: PERMUTATIONS, TRANSFORMATION and AWoW–ALL IN ONE NIGHT

Permutations, Transformation and AWoW

by Connie Roberts*

Kathleen Bennett Bastis' Concerto #1 — **Kathleen Bennett Bastis’ Concerto #1**

In this week’s New York Times Style Magazine there is a piece about the 78-year-old experimental performance artist Joan Jonas, who lives in a loft in SoHo and who, since the late-60s, has been practicing her own unique art form: “Jonas has pursued a category-defying, perpetually exploratory practice that melds performance, drawing, film, video, sculpture, installation, sound and literature.” Jonas is a woman not constrained by any discipline. She would have fit in well with the sisterhood of artists—visual, performance, and musical—at the Artists Without Walls: Gallery Series, featuring Kathleen Bennett Bastis’ Permutations at the First Street Gallery, NYC this past Friday night. Mixed media artist Kathleen Bennett Bastis, singer-songwriter Martina Fišerova, violinist Annette Homann and performance artist Allison Sylvia, like Jonas, do not fit neatly into a pre-packaged brand: all are difficult—in the best way possible—to pin down. The aptly named exhibition Permutations served them all well. There was alteration and transformation in spades on the night!

The “art gallery etiquette” was thrown out the (second floor) window: no need to speak in hushed tones as you observed the marvelous surrounding art work in the white on white space. Laughter and conviviality abounded. Kathleen set the tone when she, in addressing the crowd, held up an AARP magazine with an image of Bob Dylan on the cover. Yes, indeed the times are a changin’. Kathleen beautifully (and magnificently) harnesses that sense of flux in her work, transforming and reimagining all kinds of detritus. “She’s the real deal,” someone leaned over and whispered to me. And we AWoWers that night had the best deal in town.

**Niamh Hyland introducing Martina Fiserova**

Martina Fišerova was the first of the evening’s entertainers. And boy did she entertain. In her green, tulle pixie dress and black boots, with guitar in hand, she worked her magic, opening with one of her classic quieter pieces, but, with encouragement from the crowd, embraced her wilder side toward the end, with a dazzling display of guitar work and what can only be described as supernatural vocals. It was riveting to watch and hear.

Allison Sylvia followed on Martina’s heels. Allison, a recent graduate of NYU, is a thinking young woman who melds song, dance, poetry, and chant (for now) in her work—I’ve a feeling she’ll push the envelope even further in future performances—also had the crowd on the edge of their seats. A year or more ago, I’d read snippets from journal entries Allison had written—character sketches she committed to paper as she rode the subway between Manhattan and Brooklyn. And lo and behold, there she was Friday night dramatizing these characters—cello players and unrequited lovers—for an enthralled audience. Just as Kathleen had done in her multi-media pieces, Allison transformed her scraps into art.It’s exciting to watch her perform. And mark my words, she’s only coming into her own.

Annette Homann, our very own lady-in-red, violinist extraordinaire, rounded out the evening’s entertainment. Over the past few years, I’ve seen Annette perform numerous times. She is an amazing musician, a powerhouse of talent. And when she steps on stage, not only are we captivated by her beautiful music, but we are held in the palm of her hand by her beautiful (and beautifully authentic) personality. Her mischievous wit (watch out for that twinkle in the eye!) and hearty laugh wins us over every time. Barefoot and resplendent in a flowing red dress, Annette, segued flawlessly from classical music to pop; in the latter, impishly gyrating exaggeratedly to the swells of Adele’s Skyfall, all to the sheer delight of the audience. This joie de vivre is trademark Annette: a consummate performer. She’s having a damn good time on stage; consequently, so do we.

AWoW co-founders, Niamh Hyland and Charles Hale, did an amazing job as always co-hosting. Their job is very important, as they create the space—literally and figuratively—for artists of all stripes to be their best selves, to push boundaries, to experiment, to collaborate in a safe, nurturing environment. They are also the glorious pied pipers whose charm keeps bringing us back again and again to these marvelous events.

I think Friday night we all left the Permutations exhibition more than a little transformed. Thank you Kathleen, Charles, Niamh, Martina, Allison and Annette.

*Connie Roberts debut collection of poems “Little Witness” is available here: Click on “Buy” on the right hand side of the page

ART UNLOCKS THE SOUL: JOHN MORAN on AWoW's GALLERY SERIES

ART UNLOCKS THE SOUL

by John Moran

I was driving a limousine at the time; It was a late night pick-up, Christie’s auction house to the Upper West Side. An art dealer sat in the back.

“What is art?” I asked.

“Art is the tool which unlocks your soul,” he replied.

“Then what is good art?” I said.

**Kathleen Bennett Bastis-Slate Study #2**

“If your soul needs a hammer to release it and your art hits your soul like a hammer, it’s good,” he answered.

“What if your art twists your soul like a wrench?” I challenged.

“Then it is good for the man who needs the wrench.”

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On Friday night Artists Without Walls celebrated the work of Kathleen Bennett Bastis at Chelsea’s First Street Gallery. Her mixed media art works are truly tools to unlock the soul.

Surrounded by Kathleen’s stunning and beautiful creations with names such as Sentinel, Concerto #1, Copper Spirit and Scattered Geometry, the equally evocative and eclectic artists Martina Fiserova, Allison Sylvia, and Annette Homann captivated the crowd with their own forms of highly skilled and entertaining art.

Martina’s accompanied vocals playfully and intensely reverberated through what seemed like near perfect acoustics in Kathleen’s First Street Gallery space. Martina’s sonority so total, so brilliant, so penetrating was a perfect prelude to Allison Sylvia’s attention grabbing, fast paced, stay focused so you don’t miss a thought, hey, I think just learned something about myself, spoken word brand of poetry. Allison is not a rapper, but if Socrates were a rap artist you might think of Allison. Brilliant.

Annette Homann wrapped up the evening’s entertainment by bringing us on a musical theme park ride: Soothing us with the classical, Massenet’s “Meditation on Thais;” moving us with the contemporary, “If I Aint Got You;” thrilling us with her fiddling in Mark O’Connor’s “Caprice for Unaccompanied Violin #2,” and making us smile with a sexy, funny, acrobatic interpretation of Adele’s “Skyfall,” complete with gypsie like dance moves and back bends while never missing a note. She is a profound talent.

Great art on every level for a warm and welcoming crowd.

Annette Homann’s Skyfall below:

AWoW MEMBERS "ON THE TOWN" the WEEK of 3/12/15

Musician, storyteller and actor Richard Stillman be playing Irish music at the Verona Inn with guitarist Paul Byrne, today, Sunday, 4-7pm April 12 and again on Sunday, April 19th. The music will include vocals, guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin, pennywhistle, concertina, bones, harmonica and bagpipes. The address is: 624 Bloomfield Ave. Verona, NJ. For info. call 973 239 0544.

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Jack O'Connell in The Biscuit Club — Jack O’Connell in The Biscuit Club

Opening on April 4th and running through April 25th, Jack O’Connell, will be starring in the World Premiere of The BISCUIT CLUB, Marianne Driscoll’s canine comedy inspired by The Breakfast Club. Directed by Kira Simring. For ticket info click here Use the code awow for discounted tickets.
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Ever wonder what goes on in a kennel when people aren’t around? THE BISCUIT CLUB gives audiences a behind-the-bars peek into Bradley’s Bed & Biscuit, a boarding house for dogs. When an aging Bulldog, a jumpy Beagle, a glamorous Shih Tzu, a grumpy Pit Bull, a champion Airedale Terrier and a wide-eyed Labrador pup are locked together for the night, a doggone good time is in store for all.

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On Wednesday, April 15th, 7:30pm, at the Irish Arts Center, 553, W51st, St, NYC, Polly Lee will read selections from Norah Vincent’s Adeline and Honor Molloy will moderate a conversation with Norah about Virginia Woolf’s life and art, as well as the creation of Adeline.

“It’s an exquisite book with deep insights into the creative process, Woolf’s inner and outer worlds, and her untimely death.” Honor Molly

For $10 tickets: please call the box office at 866-811-4111 or purchase tickets online by clicking here.

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Brona Crehan’s Moonlight Sonata, starring Grainne Duddy, will be part of a three day short play festival, which also includes a work of Don Creedon’s at An Beal Bocht Cafe, 445, 238th St, Bronx, NY, Thursday, April 16 through Sunday April 19th.

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Violinist Annette Homann will be one of the violinists playing performing Townsend’s triple violin concerto in following concert:

Washington Heights Musical Society Presents the Music of American Composer Douglas Townsend
Sunday, 19 Apr 2015 – 3:00 PM
Holyrood Episcopal Church, 715 W 179th street, NYC
Suggested donation: $10
For more info click here.

PREMIERING AWoW's GALLERY SERIES: "BRILLIANT ACROSS THE BOARD…KATHLEEN, MARTINA, ALLISON and ANNETTE"

There were so many wonderful comments about Friday night’s premier of Artists Without Walls’ Gallery Series, featuring Kathleen Bennett Bastis’ solo exhibition “Permutations,” that we are presenting a number of the comments here, which will be followed by others over the next few days. As you’ll, read and as you’ll see in the photos, it was an incredible night.

“In speaking about the materials that go into her artistic constructs that are on stunning display in her solo exhibition, “Permutations” (at the First Street Gallery in Chelsea), Kathleen Bennett Bastis has said: “Their unique shape, texture and hue guide my creative process.” The same might be said of the collaborative evening Artist Without Walls created at that gallery last night.

In bringing together a trio of performers, guitarist/vocalist Martina Fiserova, violinist Annette Homann and poet/spoken word artist Allison Sylvia— whose talents are perfectly in synch with Kathleen’s vision— it made for an event the likes of which you will rarely, if ever, experience. A melding of artists within the walls adorned by Kathleen’s masterful works… it was a memorable night. Yes, it was that good.” Ron Vazzano

“Visual and performing arts converged at First Street Gallery in Chelsea for a fabulously entertaining evening. The gallery walls were lined with Kathleen Bennett Bastis’ artistic sculptures. Sallie Benton aptly described Kathleen’s work on Facebook: ‘Bastis works primarily in metal; but there are stone & tile pieces, glass and mirrored pieces, cardboard, wire, string, etc. The pieces are quite varied but all have one very strong, exceptional and true artist’s voice.’

Martina Fiserova began the performances with an experimental number, displaying her unique talent on the guitar. Allison Sylvia followed with a ten minute thoughtful and humorous soliloquy on life, a well-written monologue with each word carefully chosen and placed. The inimitable violinist Annette Homan finished the night with pieces ranging from classical to pop. The joy exuded from Annette, particularly during one number when she provocatively engaged the audience with her violin music and playful dance. ” Tom Myles

**Annette Homann, Kathleen Bennett Bastis, Martina Fiserova and Allison Sylvia**

“Lovely and talented! Brilliant across the board; Martina, Allison, Kathleen, and Annette. Happy I was able to attend; super sounds, sights and words – magical evening it was!” Michael Muller

“An extraordinary evening. Unequivocally original. Martina ended her set with a song that was amazing and daring. Equally daring was Allison’s poetry; her words seem to come from the deepest parts of her energetic psyche. And violinist Annette Homann’s performance of “Skyfall” brought the audience to their feet. In a perfect world Annette would team up with Niamh Hyland to do the title track for the next Bond movie.” Sam Adelman

**Ron Vazzano, Kathleen Bennett Bastis and Jenai Huff**

“Thank you for a night that brought back memories of New York City “Happenings” of bygone days.” Joanna Migdal

Last three photos by Vincent Nauheimer

"AWoW, WHERE ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN"

“AWoW, where anything can happen.” Vera Hoar

And Tuesday night’s “anything” was a distinctly multi-cultural night with performers from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ireland, Puerto Rico, the Czech Republic, Germany and the United States. As member Jim Rodgers once said, “It’s proof that AWoW is becoming the United Nations of the cultural scene here in New York City.”

Tuesday night’s Showcase started off with a delightful taste of chamber music. The Trio Samovili, comprised of Macedonian soprano Gabriela Gyorgeva, Serbian flutist Ana Tanasijevic and Bulgarian pianist Aleksandra Kocheva performed three pieces consisting of two arias by GF Handel: Piangero la Sorte Mia (Giulio Cesare) and Ombra Mai Fu (the famed Largo from Xerxes) and culminating with a traditional Macedonian song Zajdi Zajdi Jasno Sonce, which is considered an anthem of the Balkan area. Through their interpretation you could easily feel the special emotions of homeland and the spirit of the Balkan.

In celebration of this month’s 35th anniversary of The National Women’s History Project, Joanna C. Migdal read “Good Night, Noises Everywhere”, a cento (collage-poem) she had composed of lines by 45 of some of her favorite women poets of the past. The audience (including the men!) were moved as the lines of her poetic soliloquy expressed universal and timeless frustrations and anxieties of these women.

With a commanding stage presence and vivacious poems of triumph, tribute, and forgiveness, I.S. Jones’s poetry stunned the audience at AWoW. Her brilliant and heart-warming verse brought the audience from roaring amens to a celebration of the “black body.” I.S. was a delight to experience. We hope to see her again…and again.

Ashley Bell thrilled the crowd with a beautiful performance of Bach/Gounod’s Ave Maria. She then joined forces with Artists Without Walls’ regular, violinist Annette Homann, for an impromptu, spectacular rendition of “The Prayer” by David Foster.

Allison Sylvia performed her anti-strophe, edon.adan, at this past week’s showcase. “I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity to perform for such a supportive audience,” she said. “There are few words to describe how exciting it was that the audience ‘clapped [that they] believed in fairies.” This is one talented young lady, whose greatness is early in its ascendance.

**Larry Fleischman and Courtney Torres**

The opening scene, excerpted from Brendan Connellan’s new play Savage, was just the mix of unsettling darkness and bubbling farce that you might expect from some of his prior pieces, POMPA POMPA, Kill the Bid! or Death, Please! Courtney Torres and Larry Fleischman fully captured the awkward daughter-father dynamic as she dropped on him a very unexpected and somewhat unwelcome piece of news. Mary Tierney directed with great imagination and verve. The full play should be completed in the coming months so the fall out will be further explored! Expect further mayhem!

Martina Fiserova closed out this month’s AWoW Showcase with another spellbinding performance. During her three song set of “Silver Streams,” “Song For Brian” and “A Well” you could hear a pin drop as she wowed the crowd with her voice, her guitar, the piano and the poignant stories she told about where she received the inspiration for the songs. As AWoW member Mitch Traphagen posted after the performance ‘”Go to her shows, look on YouTube — whatever you have to do — she is worth it. An incredible talent.”

Another great evening of multi-cultural talent. The next Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at The Cell will be on April, 28, 6:45pm.

Photos by Vera Hoar.

AWoW's SHOWCASE AT THE CELL, MARCH 24, 2015: THE PHOTOS of VERA HOAR and MITCH TRAPHAGEN

The wonderful photographs of Vera Hora and Mitch Traphagen capture the spirit of another exciting evening of performances at The Cell Theatre, last Tuedsay, March 24th.

**Lynnell Herzer and Zofia Stefanowicz**

ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' MEMBERS AROUND TOWN

Angela Alaimo O’Donnell’s new book of poems, LOVERS’ ALMANAC, has been officially released by Wipf & Stock Press as of March 13th.

For those who many like to know more about the book, please check out the link to the WIPF & STOCK and to the book’s AMAZON page.

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Join AWoW for its March Showcase, including a talented array of performers and the most convivial crowd in town. Joining us, among others, will be Brendan Connellan, I.S. Jones, Joanna Migdal, Ashley Bell, Niamh Hyland, Allison Sylvia, Martina Fišerová, Mary Tierney and Gabriela Gyergeva. Thanks to Vera Hoar for the great montage. The Cell Theatre, 338 W23rd St., NYC Drinks at 6:45; show begins at 7:20.

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Annette Homann has a few shows this week:

Spectrum Symphony, Wednesday March 25th, 7:30 pm, Church of St Joseph, 371 6th Ave. Admission: $20. Works by Iannacone, Schumann and Sibelius.

Dancing with the Strings: Festival at the Bloomingdale School of Music, 323 W 108th street (www.bsmny.org) March 27th, 7 pm Bruch Octet (on viola) and March 28th, 2 pm. Violin/Dance performance. Free admission for both events.

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Actress Mary Tierney will read selected speeches and monologues from Mark Donnelly’s play Mother Jones: Fighter for Justice at Borough of Manhattan Community College on Thursday, March 26, beginning at noon in Room S341. Q&A to follow.

The college is located at 199 Chambers St., downtown, toward the Hudson. The event is being presented as part of Women’s Herstory Month.

Free and open to the public. Just let staff at the Security Desk know what event you’re attending and you’ll be properly directed.

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Tara O’Grady is releasing her 4th album Irish Bayou, a tribute to New Orleans with original songs in a gumbo of genres, from zydeco and rockabilly, to folk, funk, swing, jazz and blues. Special guests joining her on stage will be AWOW member Sasha Papernik on piano and vocals, as well as Pete Kennedy of The Kennedy’s on guitar and ukulele, Justin Poindexter of The Amigos on lap steel and vocals, and Tara’s full swing band – bass, drums, trumpet, sax, clarinet, washboard and all.

Irish Bayou CD Launch Party
Thursday, March 26 @ 7pm, doors 6:15pm
Metropolitan Room
34 West 22nd
Click here for reservations

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On March. 26, 2015, Susan Seliger, producer of Out by Ten, the monthly performance series featuring NYC’s best cutting-edge storytellers and musicians, presents Passion, Mystery and Talking Beasts: Joseph Keckler Merges Mischief, Music and Mind-Bending Stories.

The Village Voice named Keckler the “Best Downtown Performance Artist in 2013.”
Limited seating sells out fast — buy now and save $$$. $18-$20 cover includes free wine, cheese and cookies.

PLUS – that night there will also have an open-mic. we will have an OPEN MIC.

Just come to the performance by 7:30 PM, Spectrum NYC Studio, 121 Ludlow St, NYC — write down your name and one sentence for me to introduce you and your 5-minute story/song, and the stage is yours!

Click here for tickets

"TALENTED PERFORMERS, FRIENDLY PEOPLE and TIME TO MINGLE…FANTASTIC" AWoW's SHOWCASE at THE CELL THEATRE

“As a first time visitor … I really enjoyed everything about the evening. Talented performers, friendly people, time to mingle … fantastic. I will be back for certain.” Clyde Berger

Sybil Scoby, portraying Donna Summer, took us all down memory lane, reminding us of how great it was to watch and listen to Donna’s disco. For many, Sybil’s renditions of Donna’s songs reignited memories of an era gone by. A feel good musical experience to begin the evening.

Violinist Annette Homann returned to her classical roots with a performance of the 1st movement of Serge Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata, crafting a performance of technical skill and passion. Switching gears, Annette held the audience rapt with virtuosic fiddling during her second piece, Caprice No. 2 by Mark O’Connor.

Noel Lawlor followed with a superb rendition of the “Muse Of Fire” speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V. In this scence, Shakespeare asks his audience for their willing suspension of disbelief, to come along with him on an epic journey on land and sea using only their imaginations as he depicts vast battle scenes over a period of time during the 100 year war between England and France, with just a few actors on a bare stage. Spellbinding performance from Noel.

Melissa Ritz brought “glitz” to Artists Without Walls Showcase. Melissa impressed with a skillful assortment of singing, tap dancing and character work from her award-winning one-woman show, Journey of a Bombshell: The Ina Ray Hutton Story. Melissa’s show makes its west coast debut in March in Las Vegas, where audiences are sure to be charmed by her talents.

Award-winning actress and comedian Nancy Redman was described as brilliant, hilarious, and hysterically funny in the her preview of her sci-fi comedy, The Doctor Is Not In , exploring the hypocrisy of Hippocrates. She demonstrated perfect comedic timing in her performance, which is directed by Austin Pendleton. Nancy can be seen in a benefit performance of the play at the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, Abingdon Theatre Company, 312 W. 36th Street, NYC on Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 7pm. Ticktes are $20. Use Code DOC315 for a $15 ticket

Amy Virginia Buchanan’s lilting tunes tricked us–seeming simple and sweet–but then tugged on our coldest, furthest heart strings. She has a gentle, chatty voice that floats above a steel ukulele, and weaves stories about whales and birds and boats and other such things. She sings about loneliness and love, clearly knowing the pain of it, but also remaining optimistic and hopeful. Her joy on stage is palpable, and by the end we were all pleased to have the chance to sing along.

"Lily Sparks" including Kg Noble, Niamh Hyland, Margaret LaBombard and Mick Fumento — **“Lily Sparks” including Kg Noble, Niamh Hyland, Margaret LaBombard and Mick Fumento**

Niamh Hyland brought her rock band Lily Sparks to Monday’s Showcase and although they kept it acoustic, the band absolutely rocked the crowd with their original tunes. Niamh’s voice revealed surprising new dimensions to those familiar only with her traditional and acapella singing talents. Their passionate final song, “Ressurection,” gave the audience at taste of what’s to come in their full electric show at Arlene’s Grocery on Friday, March 6th, 7pm. Not to be missed!

The next Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at The Cell will be on March 24, 6:45pm. For more information on Artists Without Walls write to info@artistswithoutwalls.com

Photos by Vera Hoar.