Come On Up To The House: Mark Erelli, Peter Mulvey, Celia Woodsmith at The Word Barn

Join us for our brand new concert series: Come On Up To The House: A Songwriting Showcase as we host Mark Erelli, Peter Mulvey and Isa Burke all on stage together.

This on-going concert series will feature some of the best songwriters on stage together where they will swap songs, share stories, jump in and back each other all in front of you, the audience – providing an intimate exchange and spontaneity that makes for some of the best magic and memorable concert experiences.

Mark Erelli (host) has forged a colorful career by making the art of “being everywhere all the time” seem effortless. It’s hard to think of another artist who seems equally at home serving as a sideman for GRAMMY-winning artists like Paula Cole, Marc Cohn, and Josh Ritter, or producing albums for Lori McKenna, as he does writing and producing his own material, like 2019’s “By Degrees,” on which he was joined by a host of voices including Rosanne Cash and Sheryl Crow. That song was nominated for “Song Of The Year” at the 2019 Americana Music Awards, and served to reintroduce Erelli to a wider audience. And just in time, because his 2020 album Blindsided combines the exuberance of Erelli’s signature sound with the wisdom that comes with over 20 years of songwriting, capturing an artist at a point in his career where he is clearly digging deep and swinging for the fences.

Peter Mulvey has been a songwriter, road-dog, raconteur and almost-poet since before he can remember. Raised working-class Catholic on the Northwest side of Milwaukee, he took a semester in Ireland, and immediately began cutting classes to busk on Grafton Street in Dublin and hitchhike through the country, finding whatever gigs he could. Back stateside, he spent a couple years gigging in the Midwest before lighting out for Boston, where he returned to busking (this time in the subway) and coffeehouses. Small shows led to larger shows, which eventually led to regional and then national and international touring. The wheels have not stopped since.

Celia Woodsmith is a GRAMMY Nominated performer, vocalist, and songwriter. Influenced by artists such as John Prine, Janis Joplin, Patsy Cline, and Mahalia Jackson she has molded her own vocal style that can be described as “one of a kind: gritty, muscular, folksy and intimate sometimes all at once” (Bluegrass Situation). A fixture of the New England roots scene, she has been hailed by the Boston Globe as “Unvarnished and intimate (…) but then sounds like she’s about to part the Dead Sea”.

In the last 10 years, Celia has released six albums with Nashville based string band Della Mae. In 2014 Della Mae was nominated for a Best Bluegrass Album GRAMMY for their record “This World Oft Can Be”. Their most recent album “Headlight” has been described as “…powerful writing, soaring vocals, and moving musical unity — challenge us, energize us, and touch us as they light the way. This is an album on which you can feel the emotions of the group in each song as they evoke anger, sadness, hopelessness, and joy”. (No Depression)

The all-female Della Mae has performed in 19 countries with the US Department of State’s cultural diplomacy program “American Music Abroad”. Woodsmith spoke about her experiences with travel and music at TEDx Piscataqua River in Portsmouth, NH in a talk called “A Soft Drink and a Song in the Hills of Pakistan”.

In 2016 Woodsmith took a hiatus from touring to write, listen, and reflect about her years on the road. With her husband she road-biked 1.700 miles from Geneva, Switzerland to Vlorë, Albania. In that time off she was able to write and record for her debut solo record “Cast Iron Shoes”. The all original album combines raw, roots-rock with heart-searing songs like “Sicily” which paint a solemn picture of the global refugee crisis.

In March, 2020, Woodsmith found herself quarantined at her home in Kittery,ME. Off the road for the first time in 15 years, she has been focusing on writing, learning, teaching and rejuvenating her relationship with the outdoors.

***FOOD OPTION***

Thanks to our sponsor, Ohana Kitchen, you can now order a delicious poke bowl and have it ready and waiting for you when you arrive to enjoy during the show. Good food, good music, and good people – we love it!

Order cut-off is 11am on day of show.