Songwriters in the Round 5/21
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David Scott
May 17, 2025, 4:22:41 PM5/17/25
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Come join three brand-new voices on 5/21 at Songwriters in the Round at Arts at the Armory. Rob Laurens has performing credits from around New England but also the West Coast and Texas. Some say that Rob Siegel’s immaculately crafted songs are just too intelligent and snappy for their own darned good — but we think they are just exactly right. Lindsay Monroe is a performer that is pure delight. While her lighter children’s songs have been performed with Raffi and Yo-Yo Ma, her deeper compositions reach in to touch the grownup heart. And hosting this week, Mark Stepakoff, will share his unique blend of humor and pathos while keeping the conversation humming.
Oh and hey, Songwriters in the Round needs sponsorships to continue at our high level. If you know of a business or individual who can sponsor a performance for $200, I can guarantee the four songwriters and sound engineer a base fee of $40, so they can be sure to at least afford a sandwich and an Uber ride home regardless of how much we earn in tips. I will announce the sponsoring business from the stage at the beginning and the end of the show. Also, if the business has a flyer or coupon to distribute, we will place one on every table in the Café. Please get in touch if you can help.
Songwriters in the Round
Wednesday May 21, 7pm-8:30pm
Arts at the Armory Café
free (suggested donation $10-$20)
https://artsatthearmory.org/events/songwriters-in-the-round-2025-05-21/
The Armory Café is a warm, welcoming place where people can enjoy food and drink as well as chance meetings and conversation. But everyone becomes quiet when four songwriters take the stage to take turns playing songs, occasionally joining each other on harmony vocals or guitar licks. In between songs, the audience listens while the performers discuss music and life in general. “I was inspired by the ‘guitar pulls’ of the Bluebird Café in Nashville,” host David Thorne Scott says, “but with a wider variety. There is folk and country, but also rock, R&B, soul, jazz, and musical theater.”
Held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 7:00-8:30 p.m. This program is supported with a small grant from the Somerville Arts Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The event is free but you may want to donate $10-$20 for the performers.
Part of the ROOTED Armory Café Series. Food, snacks, coffee, tea, beer and wine available!
You might hear a young up-and-coming pro, an established mid-career performer and mentor, and a cherished elder of the scene -- all sharing music. The growing relationships will warm your heart and enrich your soul. Come every week as the lineup shifts and new friends are made.
All ages welcome.
Sign up for the Songwriters in the Round email list at http://eepurl.com/c2gNWf
Our songwriters this week
Rob Siegel is well-known in Boston folk music circles as a compelling live performer and an innovative songwriter who draws from his idyllic yet stressed-out middle-class suburban existence and produces memorable, intelligent, well-crafted songs. Rob has opened for Bill Staines, Vance Gilbert, Catie Curtis, Jack Hardy, Geoff Muldaur, Don White, and others. His new album I’m From Here charted on the FAI folk chart. Rob says: "Some folks who live and breathe traditional folk music think I’m too wordy and too metaphor- and reference-heavy. What I try to be is challenging—somewhere between William Faulkner and Robin Williams. I don't like songs that aren't memorable, and I try not to write them myself." https://robsiegel.com/music/
Rob Laurens is a songwriter’s songwriter. With a keen eye for subtle, understated detail, Rob creates songs that are subtle and insightful, with meanings that deepen with repeated listening. Steeped in the knowledge of many kinds of American traditional music, Rob seeks to emulate the best folk songs, which possess these traits — what has been described by WUMB 91.9 FM Boston as, “the rare ability to write songs that seem like they’ve always been there.” Rob has won the New Folk Award for Songwriting at both the Kerrville Folk Festival (TX) and its sister festival, The Columbia River Festival (WA). He has returned to play the main stage at these and many other festivals, including the Strawberry, High Sierra, and Napa Valley Festivals in California. He tours both east and west coasts, playing such clubs as The Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California, and Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts. https://roblaurens.net
Lindsay Munroe is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter whose music is imbued with a timeless quality, reminiscent of classic singer-songwriters while maintaining a fresh and modern appeal. While also known for her multi award winning children's music, which emphasizes themes of kindness and inclusion and has led to collaborations with artists like Raffi and Yo-Yo Ma, Lindsay's folk compositions delve into deeper currents, revealing layers of emotion through both her poetic lyrics, melodic hooks, and her instrumental artistry. “Munroe’s crystalline voice is stunningly pitch-perfect and bell-like, which elevates these already buoyant tunes to another level.” - Pop-A-Looza music review https://www.lindsaymunroemusic.com/
Your host, Boston area singer-songwriter Mark Stepakoff, is widely admired on the New England folk music scene for his mix of wry humorous material and poignant ballads, in the vein of artists such as John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III. He has won numerous songwriting awards and his songs have reached as high as number 3 on the national folk radio airplay chart. Mark performs frequently in the Boston area. Among the artists he has opened for are Bill Morrissey, Steve Forbert, Christine Lavin, and Cheryl Wheeler. www.markstepakoff.com
Oh and hey, Songwriters in the Round needs sponsorships to continue at our high level. If you know of a business or individual who can sponsor a performance for $200, I can guarantee the four songwriters and sound engineer a base fee of $40, so they can be sure to at least afford a sandwich and an Uber ride home regardless of how much we earn in tips. I will announce the sponsoring business from the stage at the beginning and the end of the show. Also, if the business has a flyer or coupon to distribute, we will place one on every table in the Café. Please get in touch if you can help.
Songwriters in the Round
Wednesday May 21, 7pm-8:30pm
Arts at the Armory Café
free (suggested donation $10-$20)
https://artsatthearmory.org/events/songwriters-in-the-round-2025-05-21/
The Armory Café is a warm, welcoming place where people can enjoy food and drink as well as chance meetings and conversation. But everyone becomes quiet when four songwriters take the stage to take turns playing songs, occasionally joining each other on harmony vocals or guitar licks. In between songs, the audience listens while the performers discuss music and life in general. “I was inspired by the ‘guitar pulls’ of the Bluebird Café in Nashville,” host David Thorne Scott says, “but with a wider variety. There is folk and country, but also rock, R&B, soul, jazz, and musical theater.”
Held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 7:00-8:30 p.m. This program is supported with a small grant from the Somerville Arts Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The event is free but you may want to donate $10-$20 for the performers.
Part of the ROOTED Armory Café Series. Food, snacks, coffee, tea, beer and wine available!
You might hear a young up-and-coming pro, an established mid-career performer and mentor, and a cherished elder of the scene -- all sharing music. The growing relationships will warm your heart and enrich your soul. Come every week as the lineup shifts and new friends are made.
All ages welcome.
Sign up for the Songwriters in the Round email list at http://eepurl.com/c2gNWf
Our songwriters this week
Rob Siegel is well-known in Boston folk music circles as a compelling live performer and an innovative songwriter who draws from his idyllic yet stressed-out middle-class suburban existence and produces memorable, intelligent, well-crafted songs. Rob has opened for Bill Staines, Vance Gilbert, Catie Curtis, Jack Hardy, Geoff Muldaur, Don White, and others. His new album I’m From Here charted on the FAI folk chart. Rob says: "Some folks who live and breathe traditional folk music think I’m too wordy and too metaphor- and reference-heavy. What I try to be is challenging—somewhere between William Faulkner and Robin Williams. I don't like songs that aren't memorable, and I try not to write them myself." https://robsiegel.com/music/
Rob Laurens is a songwriter’s songwriter. With a keen eye for subtle, understated detail, Rob creates songs that are subtle and insightful, with meanings that deepen with repeated listening. Steeped in the knowledge of many kinds of American traditional music, Rob seeks to emulate the best folk songs, which possess these traits — what has been described by WUMB 91.9 FM Boston as, “the rare ability to write songs that seem like they’ve always been there.” Rob has won the New Folk Award for Songwriting at both the Kerrville Folk Festival (TX) and its sister festival, The Columbia River Festival (WA). He has returned to play the main stage at these and many other festivals, including the Strawberry, High Sierra, and Napa Valley Festivals in California. He tours both east and west coasts, playing such clubs as The Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California, and Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts. https://roblaurens.net
Lindsay Munroe is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter whose music is imbued with a timeless quality, reminiscent of classic singer-songwriters while maintaining a fresh and modern appeal. While also known for her multi award winning children's music, which emphasizes themes of kindness and inclusion and has led to collaborations with artists like Raffi and Yo-Yo Ma, Lindsay's folk compositions delve into deeper currents, revealing layers of emotion through both her poetic lyrics, melodic hooks, and her instrumental artistry. “Munroe’s crystalline voice is stunningly pitch-perfect and bell-like, which elevates these already buoyant tunes to another level.” - Pop-A-Looza music review https://www.lindsaymunroemusic.com/
Your host, Boston area singer-songwriter Mark Stepakoff, is widely admired on the New England folk music scene for his mix of wry humorous material and poignant ballads, in the vein of artists such as John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III. He has won numerous songwriting awards and his songs have reached as high as number 3 on the national folk radio airplay chart. Mark performs frequently in the Boston area. Among the artists he has opened for are Bill Morrissey, Steve Forbert, Christine Lavin, and Cheryl Wheeler. www.markstepakoff.com
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