Michael Hurley
8:00 PM
Michael Hurley grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As a teenager in the 1950s he fell in love hearing the music of Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley blast from the radio, and was enthralled by the records of Blind Willie McTell, Hank Williams and Uncle Dave Macon that he sought for his own. This love for music, true and unvarnished, supplied him with a finely tuned musical compass he has not wavered from for 50 years and counting. Hurley’s music sounds old, like it has always existed, and simultaneously singular, like something you’ve never heard anyone else play quite like that before. This timeless quality ensures that Hurley’s audience constantly renews itself. From the the beatniks in the NYC Village where he started in the early 60s, to the hippies in Vermont, to the Americana fans, indie rockers and freak folkers from the last two decades, Michael’s music never fails to find fresh new ears. Pressed for a description, Hurley has called it “jazz-hyped blues and country and western music”.
Hurley’s early records were released on Folkways, Warner Brothers/Raccoon, and Rounder, while in recent years stalwart independent labels like Gnomonsong and Mississippi have been carrying the torch. The great news is that there is no stopping Michael Hurley. An album with brand new recordings, Bad Mr. Mike, was released on the Mississippi label last year and another new one with archival 1990s live material recorded in Lublijana is due on Feeding Tube Records this summer. Besides being a truly unique musician, Hurley is also a cartoonist and watercolor artist of note — the instantly recognizable results of which grace his album covers.
Hurley now resides on the west coast, so east coast appearances have been scarce the last decade. Old and new fans should not pass up the rare opportunity to catch Michael in action on various New England and New York state stages.
After years of touring the far flung corners of Australia and the greater world, Darren Hanlon has carved a sacred place in the hearts of many who cross his path through his idiosyncratic folk songs as well as his candid and charming storytelling.
With five acclaimed albums and many radio singles under his belt he is currently touring his latest release ‘Where Did You Come From?’ which sprung from an epic adventure in the American south. Songs were recorded in New Orleans, Memphis, Muscle Shoals, Nashville and Clarksdale, with an array of musicians he met along the way, from legend instrumentalists of popular music Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Bob Dylan etc), David Hood (Aretha Franklin etc), Howard Grimes (Al Green) to talented unknown buskers and street musicians he just stumbled upon.
Throughout the years he’s been invited on tour by many other great artists who’ve discovered his music: Billy Bragg, the Magnetic Fields, the Violent Femmes and Courtney Barnett. In fact Courtney Barnett has often cited him as a major influence on her writing and inspiration for her becoming a singer. In Australia his annual Christmas tour, now in its 14th year, has become something of an institution for his fans.
