{"id":860,"date":"2026-06-06T02:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/?p=860"},"modified":"2026-06-06T02:58:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:58:54","slug":"2024-new-england-americana-songwriter-showcase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/2024-new-england-americana-songwriter-showcase\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 New England Americana Songwriter Showcase"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Medford Brewing Company, Medford, MA <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12\/12\/2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New England Americana Association really knows how to throw a party!  15 acts, 2 stages, 5+ hours of great music in 20-minute bites to keep the action flowin\u2019 with great beer and great camaraderie for a great cause, raising money for Boston Children\u2019s Hospital.  What\u2019s not to like?!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chuck Melchin<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 \u201cI love the way you tell a story, and I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s true.\u201d Chuck Melchin is a storyteller who uses music as his medium.  I got heavy hints of Neil Young in his set, along with glimpses of the Old World in his soundscape.  I don\u2019t know who accompanied Chuck on guitar, but his harmonies and solos fit the songs like a nice scarf on a cold December night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Quinn<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 I don\u2019t know if Mike is a bassist or not, but the bass lines of his playing and songwriting pop in a highly danceable fashion.  I was getting whiffs of Sir Elvis Costello in his danceable tunes, not easy to pull off with just an acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crab Elastic<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019m a big fan of vocals, but I wasn\u2019t bored for one moment in this eclectic set of instrumentals that ranged from the jazzy \u201cMore Today Than Yesterday\u201d to Jackson 5 to The Meters to a Beatles\u2019 mash-up.  I\u2019m not sure what this band would not have the musicianship to pull off, and there were moments of Deep Groove in their stellar set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coywolf Johnson<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 First off, the vibe fits the name to a capital \u2018T\u2019!  Thanks, Hendrik, for bringing \u201cThe Ballad of Belinda Sutton\u201d to the stage, a song about Medford, a song of slavery, a song of triumph.  With just his acoustic bass, Hendrik eloquently spoke some dark truths of protest in a time that needs it more than ever.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lonely Leesa Coyne & The Lost Cowboys<\/strong> <\/mark>\u2013 I was blown away by their first song, \u201cSouthern Boys\u201d.  In fact it was the highlight of my night!  Just a straightforward, kick-ass rock song.  I probably don\u2019t need to mention this, but Leesa clearly won the \u2018Outfit of the Night\u2019 Award for her Xmas tree dress.  A nod to them for throwing in a Christmas tune, a bold one at that, taking on Darlene Love\u2019s \u201cBaby, Please Come Home\u201d and delivering with aplomb.  I liked this band so much, I gave them all nicknames:  Bass \u2013 The Professor, Guitar \u2013 The Savant, Drums \u2013 Gus, and Guitar\/Vox \u2013 Queen Sheeba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B.R Lukas<\/strong> <\/mark>\u2013  His one-man band falls right in that pleasurable line of stomp-rockers like The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons, etc., as the man certainly knows his way around a \u2018stop\u2019!  Not a one-genre wonder, the last song was my fave, a very soulful 60\u2019s era folk tune.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lazy Susans<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 With a fun set running the gamut from 60\u2019s bubblegum to Motown to a Go-Go\u2019s sounding groove, this band of suburban rock moms gave me all sorts of B-52\u2019s feels, but with the added bonus of cowbell and rap interludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan Cattaneo<\/mark> <\/strong>\u2013 She\u2019s a local songwriter who I\u2019ve definitely heard about for many years, but have never gotten the chance to see in person, until tonight!  She did not disappoint.  Powerhouse vocals, excellent rhythm guitar, and above all, songwriting at the highest level.  Medford has a gem in Susan C. (AJ Crowe)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louder Than Milk<\/strong> <\/mark>\u2013 This is my first time seeing Louder Than Milk and I was impressed. Andy Crowe takes center stage belting out lyrics and strumming that acoustic guitar, though it doesnt stop there. Eric Smalley keeps things moving on bass with the help of Dana Reynolds on drums, Jay Paget and Jeff Todd dominate their electric guitars and Kim Patch brings it all home on fiddle. The band has got a lot of energy. Louder Than Milk is a country band that knows how to groove. They put a little grease on traditional country, bending it toward funk without losing the twang. (Kier Byrnes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Billy Dodge Moody<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 Another local veteran of the music scene, Billy is a 5-tool player!  I don\u2019t know about his basketball skills, but he\u2019s got the playing, singing, songwriting, recording, and let\u2019s throw in cool persona.  Again, I\u2019ve seen his stuff online, but seeing him in person makes the music hit home even more.  Not bad for a last-minute fill-in!  All the songs were catchy, and it took all my strength not to jump on the vacant drum set for the last number, but luckily for the crowd, I\u2019m a pillar of self-discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elisa Smith<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 I saw Elisa last Spring at the N.E. Americana Fest at Bellforge in Medfield, playing with Erin Bonne as a duo. That was cool, and the full band treatment was cooler!  I\u2019m a sucker for pedal steel, but the rhythm section was also top-notch, as you might expect.  This falls on the right side of country music for me, the side still with a soul.  It\u2019s nice to see Boston so well represented on the current scene.  The driving solos of their 4th song was a highlight of the night for me.  There\u2019s not much to match the beauty of a full band in sync.  The closing duet of Elisa & Erin singing \u201cLord Have Mercy\u201d is a keeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

goh<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 Chris and Jay bring the fun with their catchy 3-chord-and-the-truth songs.  Their well-crafted numbers put out a lot of music for a duo, and I love the drum\/trumpet combo.  Their witty lyrics bespeak bubblegum pop with edge.  My favorite tune was the closer, a rare seasonal gem where \u201cshe put the \u2018Ex\u2019 into \u2018Xmas\u2019 \u201c.  Bonus points for handing out shakers to get the audience in on the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the displayers<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 Another band whose act I caught out at Bellforge, the duo expanded to a trio, and their ethereal sound just took on an extra layer as a result.  Terrific harmonies peaked in their fun mashup of \u201cAngels We Have Heard on High\u201d\/\u201dGloria\u201d!  I\u2019ll definitely be checking out these cats again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Mason McIntosh<\/mark><\/strong> \u2013 Driving folk rock story songs with humorous lyrics, accompanied by electric guitar and bass, with special appearance by Jason McGorty of the Kettle Burners.  Andrew brought the Christmas spirit with two great originals.  Obviously a man of the world, he played a song about being a tourist in Mexico, as well as one about his clan in Scotland.  We all got our money\u2019s worth with that set!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burners<\/mark> <\/strong>\u2013 Our gracious hosts closed out the night with a rockin\u2019 set.  This is Americana rock with punk energy flavored with Eastern European\/klezmer rhythms. Think Dropkick Murphys crossed with Gogol Bordello.  They performed their usual high-energy set and ended the night by handing out cowbells and other percussion to the audience for a rousing version of \u201cHonky Tonk Women\u201d.  What a fitting way to end the party with community and a good, old dirty rock song!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Editor\u2019s note: This review was written by AJ Crowe, except for the noted paragraph by Kier Byrnes)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Medford Brewing Company, Medford, MA  12\/12\/2025 The New England Americana Association really knows how to throw a party!  15 acts, 2 stages, 5+ hours of great music in 20-minute bites to keep the action flowin\u2019 with great beer and great camaraderie for a great cause, raising money for Boston Children\u2019s Hospital.  What\u2019s not to like?!   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9,12],"class_list":["post-860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-reviews","tag-winter-2025"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":861,"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions\/861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newenglandamericana.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}