SATURDAY, MAY 29
VIRTUAL STORY TIME EVENT: RENEE FELICE SMITH IN CONVERSATION WITH CHRIS GABRIEL hosted live on Crowdcast by An Unlikely Story Bookstore & Cafe of Plainville. 1 p.m. Authors will read their new picture book Hugo and the Impossible Thing. Sign up for free: anunlikelystory.com/event/smith-gabriel
FRANKLIN S MEMORIAL DAY FOOD TRUCK & LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL downtown Franklin. 5-10 p.m. General admission tickets $20 per day (also on May 30). Musical entertainment: 5 p.m., Racky Thomas; 6 p.m., Kaye Kelly; 7 p.m., Ken DoRosario; 8:30 p.m., Diane Blue. Food trucks include Caribbean Press, Pangea Cuisines and Larry Joes New England Fire Pit.
It’s difficult for Bob Comtois to pinpoint when music started to become one of the driving forces of his life. But he’s pretty sure it began with his voice. Growing up in Northbridge, he recalls that, as a young boy, he had a strong desire to sing like the Everly Brothers.
“I would sing harmony along with Everly Brothers records, and I could do either part,” he said by phone from his home in Uxbridge. “So, one evening, while my mother was at work, I asked my father for a kid brother, but he told me to shut up.” (laughs)
A year into the pandemic, clubs and concert halls are still shuttered. But that hasn’t stopped artists on the local music scene from putting out great things to listen to in the comfort of your home. Up for review today are new releases from Roslindale-based Terry Kitchen and longtime Jamaica Plain resident Rick Berlin.
Terry Kitchen’s “Lost Songs” is a result of him writing too much material – strong material – to fit on his previous albums. So, he’s gathered up 16 songs, some old, some new, and put them together here.
A former rocker-turned-folkie, Kitchen mostly keeps the mood laidback, warm and relaxed, even though he gets around to a variety of subject matter. “Here’s to Us” is a quietly happy song about looking back on and celebrating the many ups and few downs in a long-lasting relationship, while “The Morning After (The Night Before),” which also looks back, gently focuses on the idea that, all grown up, it’s inevitable that we’re not able to do
Singer-composer-teacher and multi-instrumentalist David Thorne Scott immediately said “piano” when asked to name his main instrument. But in line right behind the keyboard are trumpet, flugelhorn, and electric bass. And ahead of them all is his voice.
Scott, who will be celebrating his 50th birthday as well as the release of his newest album “Thornewood” at a concert being streamed through ATAC Downtown Arts & Music (formerly Amazing Things) on April 13, is a jazz singer. A Nebraska native, he spoke about his career and his album from his home in Somerville.
“I was singing before I was playing anything,” he said, then chronicled his journey through music. “I started in the church choir, began playing trumpet in fourth grade, and got into musical theater in sixth grade. I was listening to pop music on the radio – things like Chicago and Hall & Oates. But when I played trumpet in the high school jazz band, I got into swing music, and started listening to Bobby McFerr