http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events Event details from Ebenezers Coffeehouse in Washington, DC. National Community Church 01 May 2012 15:57:30 +00:00 June 28, 2012 - 7:30 pm - WHO IS KARTER JAYMES?...A MOST VERSATILE ACOUSTIC SINGER/ SONGWRITER…HE WAS THE DRUMMER (KNOWN AS JAMES S.CARTER)FOR MANY YEARS WITH THE LATE, LEGENDARY TEDDY PENDERGRASS. KARTER’S SONGS CAN’T BE DEFINED BY ANY ONE CATEGORY. WRITING STYLES RANGE FROM SOUL, BLUES, FOLK AND ALTERNATIVE SOUNDS. A BLEND OF SEASONED, SOULFUL VOCAL TONES TAKE LYRICAL FLIGHT INTO THE VERSATILITY OF TODAY. KARTER JAYMES IS NOW A GRAMMY NOMINATED ARTIST FOR THE ALBUM, “JOY”, RECORDED BY TEDDY PENDERGRASS, WHICH COUNTED GOLD AND PLATINUM WORLDWIDE. HIS HISTORY AND INFLUENCE IS A WIDE STRETCH, AS HIS SONGS HAVE BEEN RECORDED AND SAMPLED BY THE INDUSTRY’S FINEST, SOUL SINGER JAHEIM’S “AIN’T LEAVIN’ WITHOUT YOU”, TEDDY PENDERGRASS, “LOVE 4-2”, THE WHATNAUTS, “HELP IS ON THE WAY”, NEW YORK’S HIP-HOP LEGENDS DE LA SOUL’S, “RING,RING,RING”. MUSIC ALSO SAMPLED BY KAY-GEE, PETE ROCK AND JEREMY DUPREE. ALSO FEATURED ON MARTIN LAWRENCE’S “THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE&HATE;” MOVIE SOUNDTRACK. KARTER HAS SHARED THE STAGE WITH SINGER/SONGWRITERS JEFFREY GAINES, ANTHONY DAVID, ROY AYERS, EDWIN MCCAIN, JOSH HOGE, SPENCER DAY AND MANY OTHERS. KARTER HAS HIS OWN COMFORTABLE PRESENCE AND PERSONALITY ON STAGE AND EXPRESSES HIS LOVE AND PASSION THROUGH MUSIC…IN THE IMAGE OF SOUL…KARTER JAYMES Cost: $10 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/karter-jaymes-and-molly-hagen-with-alyson-greenfield/) 01 May 2012 14:57:30 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/karter-jaymes/ June 21, 2012 - 7:30 pm - Singer-Songwriter Night: Bee’s Kneez: http://www.wix.com/beeskneez/new-bees-kneez Rod Picott: http://www.myspace.com/rodpicott Matt Cranstoun: http://www.mattcranstoun.com/ Rebekah Jean: http://www.rebekahjean.org/ Cost: $8 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/bees-kneez-rod-picott-matt-cranstoun-and-rebekah-jean/) 20 Apr 2012 14:37:01 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/bees-kneez-rod-picott-matt-cranstoun-and-rebekah-jean/ July 27, 2012 - 7:30 pm - In the short time since her graduation from Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music, singer-songwriter Liz Longley has assembled quite an impressive resume.  While best known for her stop-you-in-your-tracks voice, Liz has quickly built a reputation as an accomplished songwriter, crafting intimately personal portraits through her music. Liz’s ever expanding fan base is not the only group to acknowledge her talent.  In 2010 alone, Liz took home top prizes at some of the most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country; the BMI John Lennon Songwriting Scholarship Competition, the International Acoustic Music Awards and the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest.  While she has frequently opened shows for established artists such as Mindy Smith, Nanci Griffith, Paula Cole, Livingston Taylor, Amos Lee, Shawn Colvin, Colin Hay and America, it is becoming clear that Liz is coming into her own as a performer.  The Washington Post declared that she is “destined for a bigger audience,” Dig Boston called her “a rising acoustic sensation” and even John Mayer is a fan, calling her music “gorgeous, just gorgeous.”  Most recently, executives at Sirius XM caught wind of Liz’s cover of Van Morrison’s hit “Moondance” and added it into regular rotation, along with her award-winning original song, “When You’ve Got Trouble.”  They even invited her to perform live in their studios - not too shabby for a recent college grad.  Liz may blush at the mention of her many accomplishments, but, if the last year is any indication, the momentum won’t be slowing anytime soon. Liz is currently touring the country in support of her latest album, Hot Loose Wire, and preparing for a move to Nashville, TN where she hopes to write and record with some of the best in the business.  Cost: $10 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/liz-longley-with-lisa-marie-fischer-and-jayme-saviati/) 04 Apr 2012 18:23:00 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/liz-longley/ June 23, 2012 - 7:30 pm - A Hopedale, MA native, Jason has been writing and recording since 2003 when he released his first full length album “Long Way Down.” Since then, he’s spent his time touring and releasing subsequent albums before settling down long enough to make “Radio Dial,” in which he enlisted the help of friends Austin Nevins (guitars) and Sam Kassirer (keys), both members of Josh Ritter’s Royal City Band, as well as David Dawda (bass) and Joel Arnow (drums). Self-produced at Vanity Sound in Brooklyn, NY, Jason and engineer Myles Turney began by recording live to analog tape, giving the foundation of the album a scrappy, raw quality, evocative of roots-based albums like Lucinda Williams’ “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road,” or, the more modern day, Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky.” Yet, the songs also contained big, melody-driven, pop ambitions in the vein of records like Counting Crows’ “August and Everything After,” or The Wallflowers’ “Bringing Down The Horse”— song-centric 90’s rock records that occupied Jason’s world when he was a teenager growing up in a small mill town. However, rather than grapple with these two divergent influences, Jason strove at the outset to make a record where they both could sit side by side at the same musical table. It was in that spirit that “Radio Dial,” Jason’s fourth album, was born. Points of Interest: 2011 Northeast Regional Finalist in the Mountain Stage New Song Contest 2009 Northeast Regional Finalist in the Mountain Stage New Song Contest 2007—“Irish Eyes” voted Top 10 Acoustic songs of 2007 by OurStage.com 2006 Finalist in the Music Makers Northeast Songwriters’ Contest 2003 Finalist in Newport Folk Festival National Songwriters’ Contest Cost: $10 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/jason-myles-goss-and-dietrich-strause/) 04 Apr 2012 17:58:50 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/jason-myles-goss-cd-release/ June 15, 2012 - 7:30 pm - Sarah Blacker’s music is a unique blend of acoustic rock, folk, and jazz with stand-out vocals and quirky yet catchy songwriting, that set her apart from other female singer/songwriters in her genre. Sarah Blacker is a part-time Music Therapist and full-time touring singer/songwriter. She has just released a brand new EP, ‘Perfectly Imperfect’ available for download HERE. She recently won the title of 2011 My Rural Radio ‘Artist of the Year’ and has also been nominated by Limelight Magazine as singer/songwriter of the year, and as a nominee for female performer of the year in the New England Music Awards. Blacker is currently touring primarily as a duo with Eran Shaysh on percussion and vocals, and their magnetic stage-presence and energetic live shows leave people with blurry eyes, warmed hearts, and a head-full of melodies that resound. Blacker has shared the stage with the likes of Sara Bareilles, Jason Isbell, the Wood Brothers, Carbon Leaf, Anais Mitchell, Lucy Kaplansky and more. Her unique voice, intelligent lyrics, pop-sensibility and quirkiness have perked the ears of many listeners both nationally and internationally – as she just recently toured Germany performing at sold out festivals throughout the country. She is also heading to SXSW 2012, and frequently performs at festivals and frequents the house concert scene. She accompanies herself on the guitar, ukulele and mandolin, and reminds listeners of Feist, Regina Spektor, and Joni Mitchell. She has independently released 2 CDs, to rave reviews both online and on-air. Cost: $10 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/admin/events/sarah-blacker-ep-release-with-jenee-halstead-cd-release) 04 Apr 2012 17:50:06 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/sarah-blacker-cd-release/ May 24, 2012 - 7:30 pm - Singer-Songwriter Night: Patrick Donovan Mulroy (Grain Thief): http://grainthief.com/ Matt Ralph: http://mattralph.com/ Alex Pelzer: http://www.alexpelzer.com/ Jukebox Serenade: http://www.jukeboxserenade.com/main.html Cost: $10 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/patrick-mulroy-matt-ralph-alex-pelzer-and-jukebox-serenade/) 04 Apr 2012 17:39:10 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/patrick-donovan-mulroy-grain-thief-matt-ralph-alex-pelzer-and-jukebox-seren/ June 1, 2012 - 7:30 pm - Her love of words was born at a tiny desk, in a tiny room, just north of London. The St. Albans’ Cathedral choir, her father’s classical radio, and her mother’s lullabies echoed all around. And at age seven, she perched on the steps of a new home in Massachusetts, on lookout, for the piano delivery truck. While many young students turn their noses up at classical music, as they would at Brussels sprouts, Dagmar devoured Chopin, Beethoven and Debussy like chocolate cake. It was the surprises in the music that fascinated her. At fourteen, she discovered the tender, mystical poetry of Joni Mitchell alongside the breathtaking improvisations of Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans, who transformed the piano into a choir of tiny voices. By the end of her training at The Eastman School of Music, Dagmar had found a way to weave her passions and influences together into surprising songs of her own. Dagmar’s colorful piano accompaniments and original string arrangements paint little worlds, inviting the listener into each song. Her playing is effortlessly virtuosic, allowing her voice to soar freely and lyrically. The melodies are married to the words, resonating like newborn standards. Now based in NYC, Anna Dagmar has released three albums and a printed songbook. Her 2009 album, Let the Waves Come in Threes, was produced by Ben Wittman (Patty Larkin, Jonatha Brooke), charted #6 on the National Roots Music Report, and received a Gold Prize in the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest. The title track spills out with a cascading piano riff, and tells the vivid story of a girl whose treasured diary is swept to sea. As she looks out across the ocean for meaning and direction, a mysterious voice rises up from the waves. Another standout track, “Can We Be Old Friends?” takes place at the end of a battle. Perhaps evoking the period of the Civil War, perhaps timeless, a gentle drone emerges through the dust rising across the field. Only two enemy soldiers are left facing each other; one sings a brave and hopeful lament. The album has also been recognized in the Unisong International Songwriting Contest, the ASCAP Listening Expo, Collected Sounds Magazine, the Williamsburg Songwriting Contest, and HPPR A-list Artist Series. WVIA DJ George Graham credited it as “one of the best singer-songwriter albums of the year, in a crowded field. Dagmar has performed and recorded with Joe Crookston, Ellis Paul, Nadine Goellner, Natalia Zukerman, and The Lascivious Biddies, and has performed at City Winery, BAM, The Minstrel, Me & Thee Coffeehouse, Garden Stage and Club Passim. She has been selected for a NERFA Tricentric Showcase, WFUV’s “On Your Radar” series, Composer-in-Residence at The Nightingale-Bamford School and the prestigious BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. She is currently recording her 4th album, Satellite, propelled by fans who doubled her fundraising goal on Kickstarter.com. The CD is being produced by Ben Wittman, and features guitarist Marc Shulman (Suzanne Vega), bassist Richard Hammond (Dar Williams) and Dagmar’s arrangements for string quartet and woodwind trio. Satellite will be released in May 2012 followed by a national tour. Cost: $10 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/anna-dagmar-and-margot-macdonald-with-giedon-grove/) 08 Mar 2012 17:02:36 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/anna-dagmar/ May 18, 2012 - 7:30 pm - A prolific lyricist and composer, Crys Matthews has penned three full-length albums and has already began working on a fourth. Backroads and Driveways is her debut album and first studio release. Having found her voice in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and her inspiration for most of the album in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Backroads and Driveways is about a journey. From “Traveling”—which was literally written on an airplane—to the title track, these songs play like journal entries along the road to love and happiness. The album was engineered and produced by recording legend, Karen Kane (who engineered Tracy Chapman’s first demo), and it is available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and at various retailers. It is in rotation on Pandora; and it is being played on various broadcasts from Harrisonburg, VA (WMRA’s Acoustic Cafe) to Portland, OR (KBOO Radio). Crys Matthews will be heading back into the studio after returning from Folk Alliance International to record her sophomore album, A Lesson Learned, as well as an EP, which will be released simultaneously. Cost: $10 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/crys-matthews-and-mbalia-with-stephanie-nilles/) 01 Mar 2012 13:40:43 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/crys-matthews/ May 25, 2012 - 7:30 pm - Kurtis Parks’ approach to life, is the same as his approach to music -“If you always do what you’ve always done…you’ll always be what you’ve always been.” Based in Washington DC, Kurtis just finished recording his 2nd worship EP with acclaimed Nashville producer and friend, Akil Thompson. The album features some of Parks’ most heartfelt worship songs that he’s written since he started leading worship in churches, at age 14. After spending the last 3 years on the road with his band, The Season, Kurtis has emerged with a fresh sound all his own and is beginning to be known as a true voice of worship in today’s ever-changing world. Since June of 2009, Parks has been on the road solo, leading worship at camps, conferences, and camps all over the country. He now joins National Community Church, in our nation’s capital, serving as a worship leader on staff, alongside pastor and best-selling author Mark Batterson. While still in college, he honed his songwriting skills, writing albums for people by word of mouth to pay his way through school. He was a finalist in VH1’s Song of the Year competition for his inspirational tune “Everything that You Are.” Kurtis also gained national exposure through American Idol’s fourth season, where he climbed to the top 50 finalists. After Idol, he joined forces with longtime friend and guitarist Josh Kim to form “the Season”. The Season has been featured nationally on CNN, NBC, and the Fox Morning show, with Kurtis’ song “Forever Changed”, written for the Virginia Tech families that were affected by tragedy of April 16, 2007. The song was one of the first ever to reach 1 on a top 40 radio format from an independent artist, and was the most requested song of the year on Roanoke, VA’s popular K92 Radio. Having written over 1200 songs in every genre since the age of 13, this young talent is a diamond in the rough among songwriters and is quickly becoming a fan favorite with Indie pop/rock listeners. Kurtis has penned songs with some amazing chart-topping lyricists, including Calvin Nowell, Keith Dudley, Scott Davis, and Aaron Rice. His songs have won the “Track of the Week” and numerous “track of the day” awards on Garageband.com and he’s been nominated twice for Artist of the Month out of over 10,000 bands on Stereofame.com. On Ourstage.com, Kurtis’ songs have held the #1 slot for 3 months, as well as 7 “top 10”s. His band, the Season reached #16 worldwide on Myspace Unsigned Pop Artists. Kurtis has shared the stage with many well known artists, both Christian and Secular, including John Mayer, Sanctus Real, Rachel Lampa, Reliant K, B. Reith, Ben Folds, Cowboy Mouth, and The White Tie Affair. He’s also appeared on BET’s Bobby Jones Gospel Hour, been featured in Worship Leader Magazine, and has written songs for several major label artists. Although Kurtis has experienced success, his priority has always been to write songs that inspire others to live for a higher purpose. His new release “Light Will Shine” is not your traditional worship record, and it’s met with much anticipation. His first indie worship EP, “I Believe” sold more than 1,000 copies independently, in less than a year! With the new album, Parks and producer Akil Thompson have thrown tradition and normalcy out the window. “We’re using sounds that have never been used before, and our hope with this collection is to set the trend, instead of following it.” Cost: $10 advance / $12 door - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/kurtis-parks-and-the-anthem-michael-knox-and-chris-douglas/) 23 Feb 2012 16:13:56 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/kurtis-parks-and-the-anthem1/ May 17, 2012 - 7:30 pm - Singer-Songwriter Night Harmonic Blue: http://www.facebook.com/HarmonicBlue Rhianna LaRocque: http://rhiannalarocque.com/ Micah: http://www.facebook.com/micahmusic Sarah Castille: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarah-Castille/152442954828284 Cost: $8 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/harmonic-blue-rhianna-larocque-micah-and-sarah-castille/) 02 Feb 2012 16:11:23 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/harmonic-blue-rhianna-larocque-micah-and-sarah-castille/ June 29, 2012 - 7:30 pm - Even for a group that has clocked thousands of miles and performed at hundreds of venues across the country, it’s amazing that discovering a sound still proves to be the most significant challenge in a band’s journey. So if there’s anything that the Brooklyn based rock band The Energy has learned during the recording of their 4th album, Streets of In-Between (Produced by Scott Riebling: Fall Out Boy, We the Kings, The Academy Is), it’s that at times the most succinct statement can be the most powerful. The message of the album is clear: when you take the road less traveled, your life becomes richer and more fulfilled. Love is a predominant theme on Streets of In-Between. From the conflicted and even paradoxical strains of the up-tempo single “Go To Girl,” (“When we fight/That’s when I see her smile”), to the hard rocking “Nothing That You Need,” (“She’s everything you want/And nothing that you need”),the album explores the many forms romance can take. And for the fans who dug the social awareness so present on the band’s previous recordings, take heart: “Better Way” beckons the listener to shrug off the drudgery of the day-to-day in search of a higher cause. The song has already had an opportunity to shine during a politically-charged sequence on MTV’s “Real World: Washington, DC”, as well as underscoring a segment of MTV’s “Cutthroat Challenge.” Selling out many of New York City’s and Boston’s premier venues over the past two years, the band currently ranks among the top grossing indie acts in the Northeast. And yet despite touring with artists such as 3 Doors Down, Vertical Horizon, Ryan Cabrera and Eve 6, and having had music featured numerous times on both MTV and ESPN, the band chooses to keep ambitious. The Energy recently appeared on Voice of America (VOA) “Border Crossings” program for some 100 million listeners, and shortly thereafter helped to host an episode of ESPN’s “Inside the Big East.” Cost: $8 advance / $10 day of - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/the-energy-and-crooked-crow-with-kerri-leigh/) 02 Feb 2012 16:02:10 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/the-energy/ June 14, 2012 - 7:30 pm - Judge Smith, originally formed in June 2003, now features Ed Smith on vocals and guitar; Pete Eisler on lead guitar; John David Coppola on bass; Joe Wells on drums; and Michelle on lead vocals. The group is available from any combination from a duo to a 7 piece band - with the addition of tubanist/percussionist Hank Rueter and master harmonica player Randy Lilleston. The band released its debut CD “Feel It,” recorded at Cue Studios in Falls Church, Virginia, in November 2003. The Judge Smith acoustic duo covers the gamut of rock music - from classics to indie progressive - with arrangements featuring distinctive vocal and instrumental harmonies. The duo features Edward Smith on vocals and guitar and John David Coppola on bass guitar and vocals. Judge Smith plays regularly in venues throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia. Judge Smith has released the acoustic duo CD, Visions, which features arrangements of songs by the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, Paul Simon and Jimmy Cliff. Released October 2005, Judge Smith’s 2nd CD, “Visions” features John on acoustic bass and Ed on acoustic guitar. This duo album showcases another original, “Visions,” and other popular selections from The Beatles, Paul Simon, Lucinda Williams, and more. Judge Smith is currently recording a full length CD, produced by Scott Harlan of Golden Sound Studio. The CD, American Vista, is comprised of original compositions by Ed Smith, and includes several well respected musicians, including Josh Howell (Tom Prinicipato Band), Joe Chiocca, and Seth Kibel. American Vista features Ed on most of the lead vocals and rhythym guitar, Michelle Grasso (vocals), Peter Eisler (lead and rhythym guitar), John David Coppola (bass guitar) and Joe Wells (drums). Cost: $10 - Buy Tickets (http://ebenezers.ticketleap.com/judge-smith-eric-scott-and-justine-miller/) 29 Dec 2011 18:38:16 +00:00 juliet@theaterchurch.com http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/events/detail/judge-smith/