Music & Events

Unsung Heroes is a New England based band focusing on original music with inspirations from country and American roots music. Versatile guitar, supreme pedal steel, upright bass, and understated drums are just some of the features that make our band groove. Check out “our sound” for a sample from our live shows and live recording at Stone House Music Studio!

https://unsungheroesband.com/our-sound/

Call (603) 526-6899 to reserve your seat for the show. All shows begin at 7:30pm (unless otherwise noted) with the Dining Room opening at 5:30pm for those interested in dinner service beforehand. Credit Cards will be charged at the time of reservation and tickets are non-refundable. Seating is assigned and parties will be assigned to sit together at tables.

35th Annual Christmas Concert

Harvey Reid and Joyce Andersen have combined their talents to create one of the most potent duos in American acoustic music. Award-winning multi-instrumentalists, prolific creators, peerless troubadours, commanding singers and seasoned entertainers, the Maine couple draws from a deep and diverse repertoire of original, traditional and contemporary music. Mesmerizing harmonies, passionate collaborations, deep and hard-hitting musicianship, good-natured humor, stories and stage interplay drawn from decades of touring make for an unforgettable and moving concert experience. 

Merging their voices with a wide array of acoustic and slide guitars, autoharps, violin, viola, banjos and mandolins, they jump effortlessly between moods, tempos, genres and eras of American music, bringing an entertaining, mesmerizing and educational musical experience to every kind of audience. Bluegrass legend Doc Watson was a big fan of their music. 

Acoustic Guitar Magazine called Harvey Reid “…one of the true treasures of American acoustic music,” and one of his 32 recordings was selected in their list of Top 10 Folk CDs of all time. Joyce has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Conan O’Brien Show, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Mountain Stage and World Café, and her songs are being sung by a growing number of other artists and even choirs. 

Reid & Andersen can also be found playing banjo, plunging into the ocean, fixing their house, writing songs, live-streaming on YouTube at their Puffin and Loon channel, or singing classic country as the Hank & Dixie and the Knotty Pine Boys band around York, Maine where they are raising two teenage sons. They created the Puffin & Loon Lounge in their 1880’s carriage house, which in warmer weather has been host to private and public concerts and other musical gatherings. Reid has recently published his 33rd book, the landmark 500 page non-fiction Troubadour Chronicles, that is beginning to create a stir in the singer-songwriter world. 

Reid & Andersen were inducted in 2023 into the Maine Music Awards Hall of Fame, and they continue to create, record and perform, mostly close to home in Northern New England.

Call (603) 526-6899 to reserve your seat for the show. All shows begin at 7:30pm (unless otherwise noted) with the Dining Room opening at 5:30pm for those interested in dinner service beforehand. Credit Cards will be charged at the time of reservation and tickets are non-refundable. Seating is assigned and parties will be assigned to sit together at tables.

Ari Hest has crafted a unique path in music - independently building a loyal following through relentless college touring, then on to major label albums, and then reimagining listener engagement through fan-driven projects like “52” and his Patreon-powered “The Treehouse Project”.

A grammy nominated singer/songwriter(best folk album, 2017) who began his career two decades ago, he’s performed both in the U.S. and abroad with artists like The Indigo Girls, Martin Sexton, Judy Collins and Suzanne Vega.

Many of Ari's songs have appeared on TV and film - The Path, The Lincoln Lawyer, Private Practice, Army Wives, and One Tree Hill to name a few. 

Ari’s newest endeavor, The Treehouse Project, has him writing, recording and releasing a song on his Patreon every two weeks since early 2022. Based on the votes of his subscribers, he remixes the 10 favorite songs from each year and releases an album. The project is currently in its fourth year and is approaching 100 original songs.

For the past 30+ years, Night Kitchen has kept loyal fans and newcomers dancing with their unique blend of rock, folk, twang, and soul.

Night Kitchen’s story starts with local legend Click Horning, who was inspired to learn guitar after meeting classmate and country music legend Gram Parsons in high school. In 1965 at age 17 he moved to New York City, rubbing elbows and sharing the stage with Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, and members of The Band. His debut album “Click” was recorded at The Record Plant with members of Bob Dylan’s band.

After 25 years since their last recording, the band is excited to release a new collection of songs this spring. Along with Click and founding guitarist Gerry Putnam, bassist Bruce Putnam and drummer Alex Keenan keep the beat alive. A true “get up and dance” band, Night Kitchen will play their way into your heart.

Ellis Paul doesn’t just write songs; he’s a guitar-carrying reporter who covers the human condition and details the hopes, loves, losses of those he observes, turning their stories into luminous pieces of music that get under your skin and into your bloodstream.

And much like the artists who have influenced him, everyone from Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon to the singer-songwriter who is undoubtedly his greatest inspiration, Woody Guthrie, Paul weaves deeply personal experiences with social issues and renders them as provocative works that are as timely as they are timeless.

Born and raised in Maine, Paul attended Boston College on a track scholarship and in the evenings became a fixture on the city’s open mic circuit. After winning a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition, he caught the ear of folk luminary Bill Morrissey, who produced his indie album Say Something in 1993. This led to a seven-album contract with Rounder Records and the 1994 album, Stories.

His songs have appeared in several blockbuster films (Me, Myself, and Irene; Shallow Hal, Hall Pass) and have been covered by award winning country artists (Sugarland, Kristian Bush, Jack Ingram). Through a steady succession of albums of his own – a remarkable 23 releases so far – and a constant touring presence around the world, Paul’s audience has grown into a loyal legion of fans. Along the way, he has picked up an impressive number of awards including the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award, 15 Boston Music Awards, An Honorary Doctorate from the University of Maine, the 2019 International Acoustic Music Awards Artist of the Year and most recently his album, The Storyteller’s Suitcase, was named the 2019 NERFA Album of the Year.

His new album “55” touches on the necessity of gratitude in a difficult era of the pandemic and divided political stances on his own imprint, Rosella Records.

www.ellispaul.com

Tony is an evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumental-ist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele who mixes and matches sounds and styles with the fl air of a master chef (he’s also an accomplished sculptor, but that’s another story). All of the music of America is in Tony’s music. Relix hit the nail on the head when writing of Tony: “True talent doesn’t need categories.

”A native of Pleasanton, California, who now makes his home in Portland, Oregon, Tony Furtado took up the banjo at age 12, inspired by the Beverly Hillbillies television show and a sixth-grade music report. He first attracted national attention in 1987, when he won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Not long after that, Tony opt-ed for the life of a full-time professional musician, joining Laurie Lewis & Grant Street. A second victory at Winfield, in 1991, bookended his years with Grant Street.

In 1990, Tony signed a recording deal with Rounder Records, one of the country’s preeminent independent record companies. Beginning with Swamped in 1990, he recorded six critically acclaimed albums for the label, collaborating with such master musicians as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps and Mike Marshall. During this period, Tony also performed and recorded with the band SugarBeat and the Rounder Banjo Extravaganza with Tony Trischka and Tom Adams.

Beginning in the late 1990s – influenced by such musical heroes as Ry Cooder, David Lind-ley and Taj Mahal – Tony added slide guitar, singing and songwriting to his musical toolbox and began leading his own band. He is a tireless road musician who performs in a dizzying variety of formats: solo, in a duo or trio or with his full five-person band. He especially values the opportunities he has had to tour with such legendary musicians as Gregg Allman and with such esteemed slide guitarists as David Lindley, Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth.

Tony has performed throughout the world at top venues and appeared at such prestigious music festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Jazz Aspen, Kerrville Folk Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival and countless others.

“I love playing live,” he says. “All my energy is focused on the love of playing music and rolling with the moment. It’s a give and take from the audience to the stage, and back. And the music that is created is some-thing that otherwise might not occur without that flow.” – Jon Hartley Fox

The Mallett Brothers Band is an independent rock and roll / Americana / country band from Maine. Their busy tour schedule since forming in 2009 has helped them to build a dedicated fanbase across the U.S. and beyond while still calling the state of Maine their home.

With a style that ranges from alt-country to Americana, country, jam and roots rock, theirs is a musical melting pot that's influenced equally by the singer/songwriter tradition as by harder rock, classic country and psychedelic sounds.

"FOUNDED IN 2009, THE MALLETT BROTHERS BAND HAVE HAD MULTIPLE LINEUP CHANGES AND STYLISTIC SHIFTS OVER THE YEARS, BUT THEY’VE REMAINED STEADFAST IN DELIVERING HEARTFELT SONGS WITH EMOTIONAL LYRICISM, VIVID IMAGERY, AND DYNAMIC MUSICAL TONES…" - NO DEPRESSION

Harmony, rhythm, indelible songs – these are the hallmarks of Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, the New England based folk quartet now in its 20th year. From the Newport Folk Festival to California World Music Festival and beyond, this band’s steadfast brew of wit, camaraderie, and musicality leaves audiences everywhere humming and hopeful, spirits renewed. Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem are Rani Arbo (fiddle, guitar), Andrew Kinsey (bass, banjo, ukulele), Anand Nayak (electric and acoustic guitars) and Scott Kessel (percussion). At the helm, Arbo is “blessed with an unmistakable voice, both light and sultry, with a hint of tremolo and smoke” (Acoustic Guitar). With Kinsey and Nayak’s vibrant baritones and Kessel’s resonant bass, the band’s signature lockstep harmonies can shake the rafters or hush the room. Arbo’s fiddle is sweet and sinewy, while Nayak’s guitar stretches across genre lines. Kinsey’s old-time bass anchors the deep groove of Kessel’s homemade percussion kit — a truly funky collection of cardboard boxes, tin cans, caulk tubes, packing-tape tambourines, bottle-cap rattles, Mongolian jaw harps, and a vinyl suitcase.

In the lineage of string bands who blur the boundaries of American roots music, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem have always been standard-bearers, with a particular knack for pairing words and music. From bluegrass barnstormers to sultry swing, old-time gospel to bluesy folk-rock, they consistently turn in lush arrangements with “stylish, unexpected choices” (Acoustic Guitar). Original songs fit seamlessly aside artful re-workings of Georgia Sea Islands music, Hank Williams, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen — just a few of the many places this band is willing to go. Writes Maverick Magazine, “How refreshing to hear something that sounds as if it has come from people who are genuinely original thinkers. As soon as Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem strike up, you realize this is a band that is unpredictable and impossible to pigeonhole.

But, what a thoroughly mellifluous melange — sophisticated, soulful and always handled with care and a lightness of touch that is part folk/jazz/country, part blues/old time, and all good. There is a togetherness that flows right through the heart of the performance. It never gets too clever and always remains understated and classy.” Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem have six albums on Signature Sounds; and three special programs in addition to their general repertoire show. Wintersong explores joy and reflection at the roots of Christmas and winter solstice celebrations (a party, with poetry!). American Spiritual is a varied program of songs that uplift, connect, and carry the human spirit. The band's CD Ranky Tanky (2010) won a Parents’ Choice Foundation Gold Award, and is the core of the band's school and family performances. Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem offer residency programs for all ages, including instrument-building workshops, choral collaborations, and Arts in Medicine engagements.

Lucy Kaplansky is an acclaimed singer-songwriter of rare talent, “a truly gifted performer with a bag full of enchanting songs” (The New Yorker) and “the troubadour laureate of modern city folk” (The Boston Globe).

She has released nine critically acclaimed CDs, two of which were awarded Best Pop Album of the year by the Association for Independent Music. National Public Radio described her 2012 album Reunion as “a master class in making the personal universal,” and National Public Radio’s Scott Simon called her new album Last Days of Summer, released in June 2022, “Absolutely wonderful….utterly beautiful and affecting… Lucy sings songs from her life with resonance in ours.”

Lucy was part of folk supergroup Cry Cry Cry with Dar Williams and Richard Shindell (which The New Yorker dubbed “a collection of lovely harmonizing and pure emotion”). Their album was an astonishing success in stores and on radio resulting in a national tour of sold-out concerts, as well as a national sold-out reunion tour in 2018.

Her recording of Roxy Music's "More than This" has over 12 million streams on Spotify, and she has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and Morning Edition as well as BBC Radio 2 and 4, and CBS Sunday Morning, and has sung harmony on albums by Suzanne Vega, Bryan Ferry, Nanci

Griffith and Shawn Colvin. Her song “Guilty as Sin” was featured in the NBC television show “Ed,” and her vocals were featured in the Tom Cruise film “The Firm.”

Funeral For My Past’s warm sound was curated by 5-time Grammy-nominated producer Paul Moak (Mat Kearney, The Weeks, Caitlyn Smith).

Liz launched a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign that placed her as the fourth most-funded solo female musician ever on Kickstarter history. Her deeply devoted fans contributed over $150,000 in order to help her purchase the rights to and independently release Funeral For My Past, far surpassing the initial goal of $45,000. The elements of Longley’s demeanor that have helped foster such a connection with her fans show up throughout the album itself: it’s a times cozy and heartwarming, but with a bite that makes each track difficult to forget.

2021 Kerrville Folk festival new folk winner

“One of the most promising new songwriters of his generation”

— Mike Davies, Fateau Magazine, UK

Sam Robbins is often described as an "old soul singer songwriter." A Nashville based musician whose music evokes classic 70's singer songwriters like James Taylor and Neil Young, Sam adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. An avid performer, he has gained recognition from extensive touring and as one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition, one of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country. 

Sam released his debut album, Finally Feeling Young, on May 14th, 2021. The album is reminiscent of his 70's singer-songwriter heroes, with a modern perspective. On the heels of the award winning opening single, 'Remind Me", Finally Feeling Young has already garnered radio airplay and critical acclaim. Two album tracks, Remind Me and Saying Amen, won him a place as one of the six Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk winners. Americana Highways writes: “He writes of subjects that others don't explore. Saying Amen has Robbins touching that special place Leonard Cohen went. This is brilliance." Fateau Magazine in the UK writes "One of the most promising new songwriters of his generation". 

A multi-instrumentalist from a young age, Sam began learning drums and piano, falling in love with guitar at age 13. He then started writing original music, recording his first CD during his sophomore year of high school, while playing open mics in his hometown of Portsmouth, NH.   

Sam is a full time troubadour, playing over 150 shows a year across the country, including the MainStage at the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Dripping Springs Songwriter’s Festival, and as one of the “‘Most Wanted to Return” artists in the 2023 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

Since moving to Nashville in September 2019 following his graduation from Berklee College of Music, Sam has made a splash in music city - performing at the Bluebird Cafe within a month of moving, and sitting in again at the legendary venue with Liz Longley in February, and was a winner at the Eddie's Attic Songwriter's shootout competition in Atlanta in early March 2020. 

In 2018, Sam was able to audition on NBC's The Voice for Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson as the first artist to perform a Jim Croce song on the show.  

Sam's second album, Bigger Than in Between, was released in August 2022 to critical acclaim.