Back in the late eighties I opened for Patty Griffin at Christophers (now Toad) in Porter Square. At the time, the Maine native and recent Florida transplant was waiting tables in Harvard Square and writing some songs on the side. Just before she took the stage she told me how nervous she was and how her guitar teacher had been the one to persuade her to perform her songs in front of a live audience. Mouths dropped as she began to sing and it was obvious she was someone very special, her soulful, bluesy and explosive voice becoming more confident with each song. It was one of those rare and magical moments you remember for a lifetime. Shortly thereafter she was signed to a major label. Her sixth album, 2007's Children Running Through, is a folk/rock masterpiece: evocative, haunting, raucous and inspiring, the powerful voice in full command.
Patty joins Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin and guitar great Buddy Miller who has worked extensively with all three, in what is being billed as the Three Girls and Their Buddy Tour. Head north and catch the show at the historic and intimate Portsmouth Music Hall on February 8th or wait a few weeks and head south to the not so recently renovated Orpheum Theater in Boston on the 22nd. Regardless of the venue, this is a rare opportunity to see four incredible talents and four very close friends, sharing the stage for what promises to be an enchanting night of music.
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