ROOTS NIGHT AT THE REP With Gerard, Boyer Plays 4/5

Seacoast Repertory Theatre, in conjunction with the Seacoast Music Collaborative and WSCA Portsmouth Community Radio, presents "Roots Night at the Rep," an extraordinary evening of rock ‘n' roll, blues, folk and more on Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 8pm, featuring Wooden Eye, along with special guests Dave Gerard, Dawn Boyer and Brett Hartenbach.

Wooden Eye, who will serve as the host and house band for this one-time event, has garnered praise for its seamless blend of blues, rock ‘n' roll, folk and country since the release of its debut Don't Ask in the summer of 2008. With over 70 years of musical experience between them, guitarist Bob Halperin and harp player Mike "Bullfrog" Rogers, whose chemistry, according to Matt Kanner of The Wire, can light up a room with "magnesium sparks," draw from the best of what American roots music has to offer, intertwining country and blues to produce a sound that is as beautifully sublime as it is gritty and nasty. Filling out the bottom, the rhythm section of Dan MacLellan and Joe Rogers brings the swing of The Band and the drive and thud of the best Chess Records sides to Wooden Eye's sound. This tight quartet extracts the best of American music, "deftly weld[ing] their amassed experience" (The Wire) to create something special.

On his own and as one of the driving forces behind regional favorite Truffle, Dave Gerard has been "the soundtrack of thousands of lives across the Seacoast" (Portsmouth Herald). In his twenty-plus year career, Gerard's music, which incorporates his love of New Orleans R&B, pop, blues, world music and "country-grass," has taken him across the country, both as a headliner and as support for artists such as Little Feat, Phish, The Band, Blues Traveler and The Dave Matthews Band. "Out front, Dave Gerard[‘s] over-the-edge raspy vocals and commanding guitar work is enough to satisfy most concert goers itself." (Jamnation)

Dawn Boyer may be known to many in the area as the powerhouse behind the Seacoast-based, traditional gospel group Rock My Soul, but her roots go deeper than the gospel she grew up loving during her early years in North Carolina. Aside from being a "soulful shouter," Boyer is a singer of warm resonance and charm, as much at home with the alternative folk-pop of Sam Phillips and the singular writing of Tom Waits as she is with the gospel stylings of greats such as Mahalia Jackson and Marion Williams. Over the years she has shared the stage with James Montgomery, Luther Guitar Johnson, Pinetop Perkins and Boston's legendary Silverleaf Gospel Singers. Following a performance with Rock My Soul, Silverleaf leader Deacon Randy Green exclaimed, "You can't fake where gospel comes from, and she's the real thing. That girl can sing!" Boyer is currently working on her second CD.

Primarily known as a sideman and producer for the likes of cult icon Daniel Johnston, singer-songwriter Rachael Davis, Dawn Boyer and Rock My Soul, Brett Hartenbach will be making a rare solo appearance in support of his debut recording, the five song EP, Frame from a Bad Movie. Hartenbach has traveled extensively throughout the U.S, Canada and Europe, performing with various artists, including, Mary Lou Lord, R.E.M. producer Don Dixon, Teddy Thompson, Mark Erelli, Garnet Rogers, Ellis Paul and Bill Lloyd of Americana pioneers Foster and Lloyd. Frame from a Bad Movie may be the first record of Hartenbach performing his own material, but "Eighth Lit Window," a song he co-wrote with Rachael Davis, helped her to win the Troubadour songwriting contest at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, while another of their collaborations is being published in an upcoming Sing Out! Magazine. Hartenbach can also be seen in the newly released Daniel Johnston live DVD, The Angel & Daniel Johnston, recorded at London's historic Union Chapel.

Tickets to "Roots Night at the Rep" are just $10 in advance and $12 at the door. To purchase tickets visit www.seacoastrep.org, contact the Box Office at 603.433.4472, or visit in person at 125 Bow Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801.

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