Month: September 2014

September 19, 2014

8:00 PM – Doors open at 7:15 PM

Harpeth Rising

Hallmarks of their music include expansive three-part harmonies, consummate musicianship and a deft yet soulful lyrical perspective. Harpeth Rising’s roots run deep – from their varied ancestry across Eastern Europe to the musical hotbed of the Mid-South they now call home, they weave together ancient and modern ideas, expressing themselves through the common thread of all peoples: Folk Music.

Born from the desire to write and create original music, Harpeth Rising began on a cross-country road trip. After spending a summer jamming at campsites and attending bluegrass festivals, Jordana Greenberg (violin) and Rebecca Reed-Lunn (banjo) decided to keep the adventure alive. They started writing songs and playing out 4 to 5 nights a week, developing their sound and honing their chops. But it was with the addition of Maria Di Meglio (cello) that Harpeth Rising truly found its sound. Despite the presence of only three string instruments on stage, the three women produce a profusion of sound generally created by a much larger ensemble. Di Meglio transitions fluidly between providing the bass line and taking the melodic lead, while Reed-Lunn’s highly original style of claw hammer banjo–learned mainly by watching YouTube–is both surprisingly lyrical and intensely driving. Greenberg takes on the role of concert violinist and accompanist with equal facility, and ensures that a lead guitar is never missed.

Their live performances are high-energy kinetic events in which both their abilities and their passion for performance are obvious. Harpeth Rising can create a listening room from a rowdy bar crowd, and can inspire even the weariest of audiences. After only a few months as a band, they embarked on a self-booked tour of England, which included a performance with The Bath Philharmonia. They were invited to perform at The Cambridge Folk Festival the following summer, and have since played folk festivals across England and the United States. Building their fan base in the tradition of all wandering minstrels – passionately and by word-of-mouth – they now perform to sold-out audiences internationally. They have released four albums in as many years –Harpeth Rising (2010), Dead Man’s Hand (2011), The End of the World (2012), a collaboration with master wordsmith David Greenberg, father of Jordana, and their brand new project, Tales From Jackson Bridge, which released October 1, 2013.