It’s the end of the second week of High Fives and this time it’s the turn of Molly Rose who is one half of Underhill Rose, along with Eleanor Underhill. They’re good; they’re so good that when the power failed in Camden on a winter evening, they didn’t hesitate to play a candlelit, completely unplugged set at Green Note. Molly is sharing some of her favourite gigs of this year.

 Katie Gallagher at McAuley Hall in Naas, Ireland – June 2017

 This young woman is a wonderful singer/songwriter from Ireland. She has opened two shows for us there, and each time I was awed by her beautiful music.

 

Les Amis at 5 Walnut in Asheville, NC – Wednesday nights throughout 2017

 This west-African fusion ensemble features a collection of musician friends (hence “Les Amis”) that get together on Wednesday nights at a small wine bar and jam. Adama Dembele is a 33rd generation master drummer from the Ivory Coast, and combined with uber-talented musicians on bass, guitar, drums and djun djun, you are transported to a happier state of being. There’s even a revolving cast of folks that sit-in on occasion, including my percussionist husband, Tyler Housholder. And even though I am biased, you too would feel the incredibly vital and heartfelt vibe to this crew.

Bonnie Bishop at The Altamont Theater, Asheville NC – May 2017

If you haven’t seen her live, you should. She is amazing!

 

Once on this Island at Circle in the Square Theater, New York City, NY – November 2017

The most incredible, soulful Broadway show I have ever seen. There is not a bad seat in the house, either.

 

 

Jeff Picker’s Birthday Show featuring Sarah Jarosz at Sunny’s Bar in Brooklyn, New York – November 2017

Sunny’s Bar, dubbed a “spiritual holdout in Red Hook” by the New York Times, is an old-school bar that is just around the corner from my friend’s place. His band, City Billies, has played there many times, and I have always wanted to see the space. When my husband and I visited last month, I mentioned that I wanted to stop in, so we stopped by after dinner. Little did I know that bassist Jeff Picker had gotten a group of friends together to play a birthday show. Little did I know that it included Sarah Jarosz. What a surprise! The highlight of the night was hearing Sarah sing lead on Bruce Hornsby’s “Mandolin Rain” to a packed room of 30-ish people.