good music at our house in red hook, brooklyn! // find us here, too: www.michaelmillerpainting.com & www.amyhelfand.com // booking inquiries: houseofloveconcerts@gmail.com
We are so looking forward to hosting dear friends from faraway lands, The Faux Paws, on Wednesday, November 29th! It’s our last show of 2023 and sure to be a joyful evening. We probably all need a little joy infusion in these short, dark days. Pretty sure our very own Lucas Miller will play a few songs to warm up the stage, too….
The Faux Paws • Wednesday, November 29th, doors 7:30, music at 8:00pm. $25 suggested donation, all for the musicians (as always). Venmo @amyhelfandin advance if you can, please, to reserve a spot, along with an email rsvp to houseofloveconcerts@gmail.com. Otherwise Venmo or cash donation at the door. Exact address emailed when you rsvp.
The Faux Paws have a problem. They’re a triangle band in a land of circles. Musically impossible to describe, they don’t even fit into todays often hyphenated-genre world. No fan, industry expert, nor member of the band can seem to sum up this band’s sound in any kind of marketable way. They continue to remain a singularly unique outfit in the acoustic music community, always on the fringes, always memorable and with an increasing number of die-hard fans who feel like they’ve uncovered a secret.
Is it bluegrass? Not usually. Old-time? Occasionally. Is it Celtic? Can’t quite say that. Is it Folk? Americana? Jazz? Singer-songwriter? None of the above, but members of the Paws have deep ties to all of these traditions and blend their elements effortlessly to serve whatever musical idea is being presented.
So what can we say? This band takes risks. They’re dynamic, exciting, sincere, irreverent, infectious, and surprising. They move deftly between moods, influences and instruments but always maintaining a “groove” that pulses through the music like a heartbeat (you may not always be aware it’s there but it gives the thing life).
A Faux Paws live show is an explosive roller coaster ride that brings the audience along. Virtuosity on the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and saxophone, sure, but also vulnerability, personal lyrics, tight 3-part brother harmonies, playful interplay, intricately arranged details and soaring improvisations.
According to FolkAlley.com its Trad. Their self-titled 2021 release was named one of the 10 Best Trad albums of the year from around the world. With the considerable success and praise the band has seen since coming out of the pandemic the Paws decided to add long-time friend and collaborator Zoe Guigueno (Fish & Bird, Della Mae) to their touring outfit on upright bass. Zoe only deepens the group’s already massive sound while freeing each member up for more creative expression on their various instruments.
Need more? Well a few points people usually notice: the saxophone that behaves in ways they’ve never heard. An oft-heard ‘compliment’ to Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist Chris Miller is “I thought I was going to hate the saxophone!” Fiddle-phenom Noah gets most of the attention on his feet – due to his unique approach to his Quebecois-style foot-percussion he’s developed. Combined with his jaw-dropping array of percussive chopping elements on the fiddle he contains the sound of a full band on his own. Except its his brother Andrew carefully executing complimentary chords and riffs on the guitar that makes Noah’s sound what it is.
But spending too many words talking about this stuff detracts from the fact that it’s the original songs – and heart – that keep folks coming back for more year after year. In the band’s 12th year they returned to the studio and emerged with an EP showcasing a huge amount of music in a 5-track sampler. The live-energy of the newly minted quartet is on full display, with very little added. The Backburner EP was released in April 2023 and reached Billboard’s Top 10 Bluegrass Albums. It will be fun to watch writers take another stab at describing it.
For his new album “Dusted Beauty,” Chicago-born singer/songwriter John Fatum invited his oldest musical friends and peer mentors to record with him in his new home of Los Angeles. Jeff Picker (bass), Julian Pollack (aka J3PO , keyboards), Ben Flocks (saxophones), Robin MacMillan (drums, percussion), Michael Fatum (trumpet), and Adrian Olsen (co-producer/engineer/mixer) arrived and an experiment began, exploring the positive role models that Fatum calls the Sequoia trees of his life’s grove.
“Dusted Beauty” displays the intimacy and warmth of Fatum’s sound: kind and loving, but with road-worn grit. As a beloved drummer with acts such as Sarah Jarosz, Bella White, The Brother Brothers, Jack Symes, Bridget Kearney (Lake Street Dive), Watkins Family Hour, Jefferson Hamer, The RT’s, Wilsen, Aoife O'Donovan, Olive Klug, Buck Meek (Big Thief), and Maya Hawke, we get a sense of the grounded integrity that allows for such a dynamic range of Fatum’s musical expression.
Steven Van Betten is a songwriter living in Los Angeles who’s taken aim on storytelling. From reflections of the American West to the depths and intimacies of human relationships, his lyrics reveal the magic hidden in mundane day-to-day life. Born and raised in Blue Diamond, Nevada—a tiny, rural, desert community—his music is inspired by time spent playing guitar in rocky canyons, taking breaks to climb the sandstone and search for swimming holes in the sweltering sun. Echoing across dim, lamplit living rooms, his solo shows are vulnerable, tender, and brutally honest.
While it’s easy to connect some of what he does to a tradition of folk greats like Randy Newman or Towns van Zandt, there’s undoubtedly a modern boundary that Steven is pushing. Deeply experimental and informed by contemporaries like Luke Temple and Sufjan Stevens, there’s hardly a category he fits into neatly. You can’t predict whether a given song will make you chuckle or tear up, but he has a way of being reliably emotional and potent.
When he’s not alone with his guitar, Steven can be heard in groups such as Fell Runner, Kidi Band, SK Kakraba, and Desert Magic, among others. He’s collaborated across disciplines, composing for dance, film, animation, and theatre, and he’s the Co-Founder and Producer of the Annual Blue Diamond Music Festival, Jam at the Barn.
The House of Love seems to be on a roll this spring and it really does feel like the peak days back in…maybe 2016 or so? If you’ve been to a show in the past few months you know what I mean, and if not, you have one more chance before we all go our separate ways for the summer.
Thrilled and honored to welcome Joy Askew back to the living room. Joy, who I originally met when I was lucky enough to be invited to join the Sirens of Brooklyn, is an incredible singer and songwriter with a very illustrious resume! Joy’s released her ninth album, Everything is Different, last May and I’m so happy that she’ll be back to play her songs at our piano. Rob Jost is joining her on bass.
Opening the show is Ruby Landen, a beautiful musician and songwriter from Brooklyn whose name I had somehow never heard before this winter. Ruby’s debut album, Martyr, well, came out in 2021 and it’s one of those that stopped me in my tracks. Maybe this will be all of our first time hearing her live–I am really looking forward to it!
Joy Askew with an opening set by Ruby Landen • Friday, May 12th, doors 8:00, music at 8:30pm. $25 suggested donation, all for the musicians (as always). Venmo @amyhelfand in advance if you can, please, to reserve a spot, along with an email rsvp to houseofloveconcerts@gmail.com. Otherwise Venmo or cash donation at the door. Exact address emailed when you rsvp.
Joy Askew has enjoyed an embellished career playing alongside music icons such as Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson, Joe Jackson, Rodney Crowell, Jack Bruce and Quincy Jones. She has performed with her own band on stages from NYC’s CBGBs to festivals in UK, USA, Japan and Europe and opened for David Bowie and David Byrne, among others.
Now as a re-invented musical poet she has been a dedicated songwriter since the late nineties and her ninth album as an artist, Everything Is Different, was released in May 2022. She also sings in a choir that was featured on a Sufjan Stevens EP, collaborated with a British brass band and released a downtempo jazz electronica album along the way.
For Ruby Landen, writing a song is an act of owning your experience. The Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter is known for crafting dexterous melodies and emotionally-charged lyrics alongside sparse instrumentation and loose, gentle rhythms. On debut album Martyr, well, Landen offers a cathartic charge, masterfully exploring both sorrow and euphoria in a way that transforms resentment and grief into a blend of serenity and liberating self-assurance. Written during a time of deep melancholy in Landen’s life, the album sees a lifelong existential crisis come to the forefront. While this internal process puts a spotlight on those darker, more pessimistic thoughts, Martyr, well also creates a portal in which we too, can face our demons.
Growing up in a tiny town in Northern California, Landen’s childhood was soundtracked by traditional folk and Americana. The ruminative instrumental aspects of these timeless genres effortlessly seeps into Landen’s musicality: one of grace, patience and poignant reflection. Her father, who had close friends in the live music scene, would often take her to shows, where she witnessed the talents of artists such as Celtic fiddle player Eileen Ivers and jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. Back at home and inspired by what she saw, Landen began experimenting with the guitar and finger-picked her way into what would become her signature sound. Frisell later became a mentor of sorts, helping Landen to gain confidence and refine her artistry.
When she turned 18, Landen moved to Paris, France. What started as a trip to start college soon merged into a musical awakening, where Landen began busking in the metro stations and performing in local bars and cafes. While the experience helped her to stretch her creative muscles, Landen says she truly found her musical community when she later moved to Brooklyn. It was there that she performed in front of fellow folk musicians for the first time, who could understand her lyrics in a way Landen hadn’t experienced before. While it was daunting at first, Landen says the experience ultimately led her to trust herself and her creative vision.
It was through this community that Landen met the musicians who would help to shape the dynamics on Martyr, well. The devastatingly gorgeous single “I Look Like My Mother” sees Hannah Read (fiddle, vocals), Jerry Cronin (cello) and Liri Ronen (French horn) join Landen in creating a sparse yet immersive universe, with Marley Taylor (harmonies) joining elsewhere on the LP. Landen also credits producer and bass player Rowan Brind as a key figure in crafting the powerfully delicate sonic world of [album name]. Experimenting with differing temporal and spatial focal points, Landen mimics the uncertainty of self-doubt and criticism with distant pedal steel and fiddle, teetering over the lower anchor of prominent bass lines. It acts as a propulsive collage, threaded together like fragments of memory.
Martyr, well is the sound of an artist honoring their past, and the often tumultuous journey it takes to leave the confines of agitation and anxiety. There’s power in exploring the moments that have shaped us, allowing Landen to carve out a lustral environment, where sorrow and despair is bravely amplified. With an affecting emotional candor that steers towards stark honesty, Landen’s debut album shows an artist unafraid to dive deeper. With infinitely layered textures and carefully constructed dynamics, Martyr, well doesn’t shy away from the difficult reality of those who have felt trapped by circumstance or experience; instead, it creates a communal catharsis, a much-needed mirror, that we all so deeply crave.
We had an amazing March and it really felt like back to the best old days of the HoL :) Our good fortune continues with a visit from The Shabbys in April. We’re very honored to host the NYC debut for this new project of dear friends Eamon O'Leary, Elise Leavy, and Stephanie Coleman! It’s bound to be a time of lovely songs (young and old) and inspiring musicianship, so please come out. I feel like I’m out of superlatives, but I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of love floating around the room that night.
The Shabbys • Friday, April 14th, doors 8:00, music at 8:30pm. $25 suggested donation, all for the musicians (as always). Venmo @amyhelfand in advance if you can, please, to reserve a spot, along with an email rsvp to houseofloveconcerts@gmail.com. Otherwise Venmo or cash donation at the door. Exact address emailed when you rsvp.
The Shabbys are three friends who bring together the deep rhythm and drive of Appalachian and Midwestern fiddle traditions with the country-tinged songwriting of an Irish immigrant and the dreamy sounds of the early 70’s California coast.
Stephanie Coleman is an old-time fiddler based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Chicago, Stephanie was first exposed to the fiddle as a child through her father, a fiddler himself. For more than two decades, she has immersed herself in Appalachian and Midwestern styles of old-time fiddling, exploring both the craft and the rich history behind the music. She spent several years touring with the acclaimed stringband Uncle Earl and has collaborated with countless notable musicians, including banjo wunderkind Nora Brown, Watchhouse’s Andrew Marlin, and clawhammer banjo virtuoso Adam Hurt. Stephanie has performed and taught at festivals and workshops throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia and remains a regular award winner in the renowned contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia. Most recently, she appeared in HBO’s Crashing starring comedian Pete Holmes and played fiddle in the score to Radiolab’s nine-part series Dolly Parton’s America.
Raised on the central coast of California and currently living in Lafayette, LA, Elise Leavy has a distinctly unique voice as a singer and songwriter. Often likened to Joni Mitchell and Judee Sill, Elise says it must be the California seawater getting inside her head and heart from an early age. She has been writing songs since she was 8 years old, and has studied the art of singing and harmony for the better part of her 24 years. After graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music and living in New York City, and then Nashville, TN, she is now thrilled to be preparing to release her fourth solo project, and her first big record, a group of songs written and recorded in Brooklyn, NY with a full band of amazing local musicians.
Eamon O’Leary from Dublin is a long time resident of New York City. A singer and string player, with deep roots in the world of Irish trad, he is one half of The Murphy Beds with Jefferson Hamer. Their debut album was described by The Hufffington Post as one that “bears repeated listening from start to finish, with ten beautiful, crystalline songs.” He is also a member of The Alt with Nuala Kennedy and John Doyle. His songwriting can be heard, most recently, on The Silver Sun from Reveal Records.
