--Photo by Andrew Wallach

Thursdays at Precinct in March belong to velvet-voiced singer/songwriter Abbie Barrett. Her newest album, Dying Day is heavy with emotional lyrics and boasts vivacious beats. Most of the songs on the album are fast-paced and energetic and show a gentle and creative desperation (in a c'est la vie sort of way) that you hear in modern French and Irish folk. Her voice is unique and deep and leads the action-packed rhythms of the album. The title track "Dying Day" and "Bide My Time" are softer and sparkle with American-Country undertones but still contain the slow build and strong punch in the gut (in a butterflies in the stomach sort of way) that the other tracks have. Plus it is good to have something different once in a while. Barrett has the cautious heart of Joni Mitchell and/or Nick Drake and the thick-skinned creativity of Tori Amos.

At Precinct Barrett will be playing with many local bands such as, Dan Blakesee and Jenee Halstead (who will be also playing at the Deli Showcase on the 19th at the Armory - more to come on this soon)The Doctors Fox, Dave Alpert and many more.

Precinct is in Union Sq. Somerville, MA. Every Thursday in March. Abbie Barrett.

--Meghan Chiampa

The organizers of the Tech Mashup Party have selected the 3 artists that will play at their show in Austin during SXSW. The lucky ones are LA alt rock band Voxhaul Broadcast (in the picture), Austin indie rockers Red Leaves, and NYC singer Songwriter Dion Roy - congrats to them and thanks to all the bands that submitted through The Deli!

The 4th annual New England Americana festival kicks-off today at Church in Boston and runs through Saturday. There is an amazing line up for this event. Guns, Girls and Glory, Jimmy Ryan and Hayride, Three Day Threshold, The Bees Knees, Movers and Shakers and many more will be celebrating the very American genre in with the spirit of the Northeast. They have different ticket bundles and you can check those out here.

--The Deli Staff

Christopher Pappas’s solo project Forest Fires is an organic incarnation of this preternaturally gifted musician. The show at TT the Bear’s on Tuesday, February 16th consisted of seven songs from Forest Fires’ debut album Hark! And Other Lost Transmissions. Backed by a full band, Pappas blended his bittersweet lyrics with master showmanship to build his venue into an atmosphere fitting for the music he plays: something familiar and accessible while also testing the audience’s willingness to open themselves to the implications itinerant in his music.

Pappas played a tight seven-song set showcasing Forest Fires’ range from the tender, lulling opener “Lost at Sea” to the show closer “The Dying Physicist”, a tongue-in-cheek anthem to quantum physics, foregone opportunities and squandered time. There’s a controlled grittiness in Forest Fires, something gleaned even in more upbeat tracks like “Sweet Tooth” and “Static Gloom.” In “Son Son (Son)”, a tender apology to an unborn child, Pappas’s voice wavers between seduction and guilt, enough so to make the audience suspend the knowledge supplied by Pappas himself, “This is about the son I never had, not one I abandoned.”

Throughout, what ties the music together is Pappas’s ability to experiment with variations on melody, theme and genre conventions. The result is ultimately catchy, alluring and accessible while maintaining an impish degree of challenge. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the song “Fooling Everybody, All of the Time,” a coy, catchy dirge about the ubiquitous need to be accepted that began with Pappas near-cooing into the microphone and ended with the proclamation, “There’s no song to sum up the way you feel.” The music captures the sense of ongoing loss and elation inherent in any innocuous moment. Forest Fires hints at complex ideas through pristine songs, music that cycles back to key concepts and chords alike. Ultimately, Forest Fires strives to expose the bittersweet revelation of everyday experience and the mark it leaves upon us.

--Meghan Guidry

Deli readers who play in bands,

The Deli has reserved 3 showcase slots at Music Tech Mashup during SXSW, which will take place at Rusty Spurs in Austin, TX on 7th St. on March 17. Rusty Spurs features 3 stages with an 800 person capacity in the middle of it all and is an official SXSW venue. During SXSW it will host shows by heavy hitters like Echo and the Bunnymen, Vega (Neon Light side project) and Semi Precious Weapons (recently on tour with Lady Gaga) amongst others.

To apply to play this SXSW show all you need to do is fill in this form HERE and click on the confirmation email you'll receive (this will simply add you to our mailing list and enter your band in our fabulous charts organized by genre and region - one day we'll also create band profiles!). 3 artists will be selected by the organizers (one of them will be a local Austin, TX artist). Any band that is available to travel to Austin is eligible. Submission deadeline is Monday 02.22 at 11.59 pm.

Music Tech Mashup Showcase (hosted by Coast to Coast Models & Events and presented by The Deli, Hunnypot, GreenShoeLace) will celebrate the convergence of music and technology and the opportunities it presents for everyone involved just as SXSW itself switches gears from Interactive Week to Music Week.This is a list of some of the artists already booked: Jada - Universal Motown Records (Boston, MA) - Bamboo Shoots - Epic Records (New York) - Shinobi Ninja - (Brooklyn, NY) - McAlister Drive - (Boston, MA) - Odd Modern - (Los Angeles, CA) - Keys and Crates (Toronto, Canada) - Curtis Santiago (Toronto, Canada) - Keith Masters (Chicago, IL) - FutureCop! (UK) - Mark Foster (Los Angles, CA).

The Deli's Staff