Courtesy Photo
Kevin So
JP Unplugged presents contemporary folk singer/songwriter Kevin So on Sat., May 19 at the historic Loring-Greenough House, 12 South St. The concert will begin at 8 p.m., and admission is $10.
Opening the concert will be singer/songwriter (and JP Unplugged founding member) Mike Delaney. For reservations or more information please e-mail [email protected] or call the Loring-Greenough House at 524-3158. Advance reservations are strongly suggested. Please arrive by 7:45 to claim your reservation.
In a decade of performing his original music around the country, Kevin So has earned the respect of his fellow musicians (Keb’ Mo’, Mary Lou Lord, and Amos Lee, for starters), won over members of the press and radio (the Boston Globe, WFUV and many more) and built up a substantial fan base coast to coast.
Born and raised in Boston, So channeled his early passion for singing and playing piano and guitar into the start of a career in music with his appearance, in 1990, on a nationally broadcast Fox show hosted by Natalie Cole called “Big Break.” In 1994, So toured the country as a member of a pop/R&B cover band that later had some of its musicians move on to Britney Spears’ band. When not playing keyboards with the group, he spent a considerable amount of time listening to the recorded music of Bob Dylan early in his career and to the Delta blues of Robert Johnson.
By 1995, So had quit the cover band and was a regular on the open-mic folk scene in Boston. His strong musicianship and natural showmanship as a solo singer-songwriter caught the attention of Boston Globe pop critic Steve Morse, who wrote that Kevin was “unusually talented.” The next year, Kevin took to the interstates for his first road work.
At the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, an Austin Chronicle’s music writer took notice, writing that So was “the big discovery.” The release of Kevin’s first full length CD, “Pendulum,” in the same year signaled the arrival of a top-flight storyteller with melodically rich music. Subsequent releases include “Individual” (1997), “Leaving the Lights On” (2003), “The So Must Go On: Live in Concert” (2005). The release of So’s new album, “A Brighter Day,” quite possibly his most compelling work to date, is supported by concert dates in 2007.
Delaney is a Boston-area singer-songwriter and part of the music group New England Weather. His humorous original songs and parodies cover a wide range of topics from himself (“The Hunk” and “Mando Tango”) to the entire country (“If We Only Had a Brain”). In between are excursions into the world of natural science (“Tofu, the Vegan Killer Whale”), literature (“Daddy, Who’s Mark Twain?”), automated phone systems (“1-800-CONFESS”), women’s health (“Mammogram, M’am?”), sports (“Red Sox Dream”), the oxymoronic business of folk music (“I’m changing my name to DOT.COM” and “The Naked Open Mic”), parts of the human anatomy (“Colonoscopy”, “Bare Midriff” and “Eyebrows”), and, of course, his raging ego (“It Is, In Fact, Always About Me”). He has been deemed an “accomplished amateur” by Marilyn Rae Beyer, the music director of WUMB, Boston Folk Radio, and Tom Paxton commented that at least one of his songs was “not bad.” Anne Hills called the song “1-800-CONFESS” “brilliant”!
Delaney’s CD “1-800-CONFESS” was released in 2006. New England Weather’s CD “A Little Sun; A Little Rain” was released last month.
JP Unplugged is a concert series dedicated to presenting quality live acoustic music in an intimate listening environment in Jamaica Plain. It is organized by Boston-based singer/songwriters and acoustic music supporters who believe both the community and its artists benefit when the music is the focus. JP Unplugged is dedicated to presenting both nationally known and local artists to the Jamaica Plain community.
The Loring-Greenough House, built in 1760, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has been a historic house museum since 1926. Its beautiful period decor and intimate size make it an ideal setting for acoustic music.
For more information on So visit www.kevinso.com. For more information on Delaney visit www.mikedelaney.org