Gauthier To Open Temple’s Acoustic Folk & Blues Series

RIDGEFIELD — On Thursday, October 2, at 7:30 pm, singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier will make her only appearance in Connecticut this fall when she opens the 2003 fall series of acoustic folk and blues concerts at Temple Shearith Israel.

Ms Gauthier, whose third album Filth & Fire was rated by The New York Times music reviewer Jon Pareles as the #1 Independent Album of the Year (January 2003) as well as ranked on many of the top CD of the year lists throughout the country, is known for her songs’ uncommon and unflinching honesty.

A Louisiana native, Mary Gauthier’s stark, pulls-no-punches songwriting brought her widespread acclaim with her second CD, Drag Queens and Limousines. Released in 1999, the CD received national airplay and media attention in publications like Billboard and Rolling Stone.

Within six months Ms Gauthier was touring coast to coast and accepting invitations to perform on the main stages of the country’s most prestigious festivals, from Strawberry Music in California to the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. With the release of Filth and Fire, The Washington Post reported that it should establish her as one of the finest artists in the whole alternative country field.

A year later, it has clearly done so. This past summer she graced the stage of numerous Canadian festivals and then on October 27 she will be back in London where she now tours several times a year. Ms Gauthier’s fourth album will be recorded in October, with Gurf Morlix producing, and a targeted April 2004 release

The Acoustic Celebration is a successor to the series of concerts presented at the temple last winter and then informally called Temple Folk. The name of the series was changed to more accurately reflect the broader variety of music to be performed.

This season’s fall lineup includes three Thursday night concerts. In addition to Mary Gauthier’s appearance on October 2, singer-songwriter David Olney will perform on November 13, and bluegrass guitarist John Herald is scheduled for December 11.

Individual tickets are $13 each and may be obtained at The Ridgefield Music Store, 19 Governor Street, or The Enchanted Garden, 165 Danbury Road, both in Ridgefield, or by sending a check or money order made out to The Acoustic Celebration (with an enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope) to 109 Round Lake Road, Ridgefield CT 06877. Series concert tickets are also available, for $30.

For reservations and further information call 203-431-6501 or send email to AcousticCeleb@aol.com.

Temple Shearith Israel, at 46 Peaceable Street in Ridgefield, can be contacted at 203-438-6589.