
- Kipyn Martin
- Lara Herscovitch
- Lea
Three women singer/songwriters in the round
KIPYN MARTIN, LARA HERSCOVITCH, & LEA
Tickets $20.00 ~ Showtime 8:00 pm
Tickets & reservations: 410-795-1041
ALL TICKET SALES FINAL, NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES
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Kipyn Martin is a West Virginia native who now resides in the Washington DC area. Recent accolades include being named New Artist of the Year by the Washington Area Music Association in 2015 and winning Gold and Silver Awards in the 2014 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. Her song “Nightbird” from her debut album, Undercover Muse won a Gold Award, as well as the Director’s Choice Award, in the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and she received international distinction in the 2013 UK Song Contest when “I Believe in You” from Undercover Muse earned a semi-finalist rating. In addition to her songwriting and concerts Kipyn, along with Allison Shapira, presents a tribute show to Joni Mitchell & Joan Baez — The Joan & Joni Show.
Her voice is gathering a reputation in the region, hailed by listeners as “an instrument of unrefined purity” ~ Tony S. (Leicester Bangs) and “the most pure voice I’ve ever heard” ~ Karin Fuller (The Charleston Gazette).
For some people, what they do and who they are two different things. Not so for Lara Herscovitch, an “extraordinarily talented” (smother.net) American songwriter, poet, singer, performer, and policy social worker.
Lara’s award-winning music is “pure musical poetry” (The Courier): highly original, modern folk with shades of blues, jazz, and pop. As the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal wrote, “Singer-songwriter Lara Herscovitch doesn’t write songs just for the ears, but also for the heart and soul.”
With a voice “clear and smooth like expensive liquor,” she stands “above and beyond the pack” (Northeast Performer). Herscovitch is “a remarkable performer” (WSHU Public Radio). Former State Troubadour of Connecticut (2009-2010), Lara brings charm, authenticity, intelligence and a love of performing that immediately resonates with diverse audiences. She has appeared as a guest on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor (American Public Media) and tours from Maine to Miami.
Lara also has extensive experience as a policy social worker, and has worked in the US, Latin America and Asia on behalf of disadvantaged individuals – focusing on education, community development, and juvenile justice. These themes are woven throughout her music. As Acoustic Live in New York City wrote, “She possesses not only a huge reservoir of musical talent and a voice with a bell-like clarity, but a keen sense of global concern and a fierce intellect.”
“A great voice singing great songs.” That is the simplest way to introduce you to Lea’s music. While she often draws comparisons to other female phenoms like Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell and Ani DiFranco, Lea’s sound seamlessly blends gospel, jazz, country and R&B into her own style — SoulFolk.
Lea was born in Baltimore to a father who toured the world playing trumpet in the funk band Black Heat and a mother who dreamed of opera while performing with her siblings in the Jones Family Gospel Singers. Lea was singing on the pulpit of the Baptist church where she grew up as soon she could speak. When she discovered the acoustic guitar as a teenager, she began teaching herself to play by writing songs. Lea’s final year in high school in Germany at a classical conservatory, where she sang with the jazz ensemble Black & White and co-wrote with the British pop trio Indigo Wild.
Having shared the stage with luminaries including Odetta, Mavis Staples, Dar Williams and Anthony Hamilton, LEA performs at a far-ranging array of venues, including arts centers, universities, festivals, and places of worship. She is consistently acknowledged by the Washington Area Music Association as one of the region’s best vocalists, songwriters and recording artists. She is a graduate of the prestigious Artist-in-Residence program at The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD and a beloved children’s music performer among DC families.
Lea’s latest recording, the crowd-funded and highly-anticipated “Let You In,” is a collection of songs the artists hopes will cultivate greater compassion for femininity. Lea’s stunning vocals and award winning songwriting are supported by rich instrumentation, featuring Howard Levy (of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones) on the harmonica.
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