Submitted by Amy Albert
(August 23, 2023) — The Buttonwood Tree at 605 Main Street in Middletown presents the following events in September 2023. For information on all shows and performances, visit www.Buttonwood.org or call (860) 347-4957 Email: TheButtonwoodTree@gmail.com
Saturday, September 2, 2023, 8:00 p.m., Massachusetts-based Bluegrass Trio Mamma’s Marmalade. Admission is $20. Mamma’s Marmalade started in a UMass dorm room when Lily Sexton (fiddle) and Mitch Bordage (mandolin) bonded over bluegrass. In 2016, the pair were participating at an open mic when a tall young man named Sean Davis asked to join them on stage for a tune. Davis’s tenacious flatpicking caught their attention immediately. “The guitar is an incredibly integral part of any band, but within bluegrass, a guitarist has to fill so many roles,” says Sexton. “They have to be rhythmic magicians, and sometimes you get lucky with the rare player who can take leads as well.”
Friday, September 8, 2023, 8:00 p.m. Ken Serio Jazz Trio. Admission is $25. Drummer Ken Serio is a New York session musician, solo artist, and band leader of The Ken Serio Trio. Various tours, recording sessions, and CDs with some of jazz, blues, and pop’s top artists including bassist Mark Egan, guitarist Vic Juris, blues great Ronnie Earl, saxophonist David Mann, keyboardist Gil Goldstein, guitarist Pete McCann, drummer Danny Gottlieb, guitarist Billy Eric, and blues great Popa Chubby. Jedd Chlebowski is a bassist with a career spanning 30 plus years. He has played in rock and jazz bands and in orchestras and musicals. He plays 4, 5, 6, string electric fretted and fretless basses as well as upright bass.
Friday, September 15, 2023, 8:00 p.m., Jazz Artist Joe Fielder and his concept group Open Sesame. Admission is $20.This group merges Joe Fiedler’s two worlds, those being music director for Sesame Street—for the past thirteen seasons and an internationally recognized jazz trombonist, by presenting his unique and slightly edgy arrangements of Sesame Street classics. The band showcases a working quintet of seasoned New York improvisers: Steven Bernstein on trumpets, Jeff Lederer on saxophones, Michael Sarin on drums and Sean Conly on bass. As an extra bonus, Joe will also have an AV presentation of how the music for Sesame Street is made—which is often a fun pre-concert experience.
Saturday, September 16, 2023, 8:00 p.m., Shoreline Jazz Quintet. Admission is $20. The Shoreline Jazz Quintet or SJQ includes Mike Bimonte on drums, Deepak Cyril D’Souza on saxophones, Rich Meyers on vibraphone, Steve Roane on acoustic bass and Steve Wood on electric guitar. SJQ have been playing together in different combinations for several years. They play an eclectic repertoire including jazz standards and the music of more modern composers. They are currently working on celebrating the work of Pat Metheny in addition to working on some original music.
Friday, September 22, 2023, 8:00 p.m., Middletown Folk Group Merganser, and New England Singer/Songwriter Katie Dobbins. Admission is $15. Merganser is a modern folk project founded by Derrik Bosse, Taylor Warinsky, and Matt Belliveau in the summer of 2021. The group plays a modern style of traditional inspired tunes that border on post-punk and Irish Trad. Traces of Andean and Ukrainian folk music can also be heard. Matt Belliveau (guitar) has a BA in Jazz Performance and can be seen performing with The Lost Tribe from time to time. Derrik Bosse (winds, bass, vox) is always looking for music off the beaten path. He has studied the folk styles of Greece, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba, South America, and more. Amanda Gooch (violin) is a CCSU graduate who took the leap from teaching in the public school system to teaching privately. Her main passion is performing live and jamming, in groups like The Metacomet Quartet. Taylor Warinsky (various, vox) is a public school music teacher with a background in classical bassoon. He and Derrik met on a jazz gig several years ago and have been working together ever since, in projects like Klezmer Fusion Collective. Award winning singer-songwriter and light warrior Katie Dobbins seeks to share honest music that captivates listeners and brings light to the darkness. With a mastery of storytelling and the heart of a poet, this soulful songstress captures elements of life and relationships in ways that lift the spirit and challenge the soul. Her album There Is Light was awarded Album of the Year at the 2019 New England Music Awards and 2021 Limelight Music Awards. Admission link: https://bit.ly/3Nuda7h
Friday, September 22, 2023 8:00 p.m., Afro-Soul group Gentleman Brawlers. Admission is $20. Gentleman Brawlers, a Brooklyn Six-Piece fronted by the creative duo Matt Walsh and Becca Fox, are psychedelic Afro-soul revivalists known for infusing throwback electronica and acid rock into their funk-based compositions. The ‘Brawlers deliver a live show with plenty of heat, crackling energy, and butt-shaking whomp. While working on the tracks for their next full-length LP (due October 2023), the ‘Brawlers have honed their live show on college campuses and the festival circuit.
Saturday, September 23, 2023, 8:00 p.m., Singer-Songwriter Jeff Black. Admission is $20. Boston’s WUMB listeners voted Jeff Black one of the top 100 most important Folk artists of the last 25 years. Black’s songs have earned Grammy Award recognition, radio chart-topping stats and numerous BMI awards. Although flying below the radar as a performer himself, he has been recognized by NPR as a musical pioneer in the digital age. His flagship podcasts, “Black Tuesdays,” circa 2005-2007 are classic imprints on the format and his catalogue of critically acclaimed albums continues to grow. Saturday, September 29, 2023 8:00 p.m., Singer/Songwriters Elly Kace and Lucas Neil. Admission is $15. Elly Kace’s music is anchored by her unshakable openness: her willingness to experience new things, embrace new perspectives, and adapt to difficult circumstances. An acclaimed and internationally renowned opera singer, she explored new sides of herself when she released her debut pop album in 2021’s Nothing I See Means Anything, a densely conceptual and boundary-pushing collection of songs that explored her meditative, introspective, and danceable side. Lucas Neil is an independent folk singer/songwriter from Milton, New York who has built a grassroots following in and around Rhode Island with his intimate and captivating live performance, filled with poetry and passion. He was described in Sound Waves Magazine as a “rising young talent with an old soul.” He is a featured artist for Connecticut’s ‘Friday Night Folk’ series and has performance with accomplished poets Coleman Barks and Lisa Starr.
