Saturday, February 7 at 7 p.m. Nashville Friends Meeting House, 530 26th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209
$10 – call 615-385-1967 for more information
Two-hundred-year-old American sacred songbooks might not be the most obvious place to go looking for guidance on how to find balance in the fast-paced, multi-cultural, high-tech, war-torn, money-driven, political, world of today.
But Kindling Stone members Chris Moore and Mark Wingate found just that in a bounty of wise words and powerful melodies from two early-American musical traditions: The Sacred Harp and The United Society of Shakers. These traditions (which blossomed during the 18th and 19th centuries and both continue today) respond to some of the same questions that Kindling Stone explores in their own compositions – questions about community, aging and death, love, family, peace, discipline, nature, prayer and meditation.
Kindling Stone’s musical influences are decidedly eclectic – bluegrass, folk, old-time, country, rock, sacred, and several world music traditions are all part of the landscape. Added to the mix are Mark’s collection and interest in early American hymnals, along with Chris’s study of Buddhist and Quaker teaching and practice.
As a result, Kindling Stone’s debut recording harkens back to the early roots of the American musical spirit. At the same time, it leans forward into the growing spiritual pluralism of contemporary culture. This is a place of congregation, where the divine is found in the ordinary, and the natural world informs the inner journey. The sound is that of a simpler time – fiddle, mandolin, and reed organ – while the voices ask the listener to consider the ancient, timeless, poetic, and philosophical.
Joining Chris and Mark for the February 7 concert will be amazing voice and talent of Nashville songwriter/performer Sarah Siskind. The group will perform several selections from The Sacred Harp and Shaker traditions, along with original songs, instrumentals, and spoken word from collected sources.
“The music is austere, calming, evoking centuries of prayer in tiny chapels…offers an uncorrupted witness to something better inside us.” – The Tennesseean
“Chris Moore is simply an amazing songwriter” – Dave Palmatier, WUMB, Boston’
“Moore’s poetic verse, in particular, is strange and arresting. His spiritual ballad ‘Closer’ is a gem.” Acoustic Guitar Magazine
http://www.myspace.com/kindlingstone
NASHVILLE FRIENDS MEETING: http://www.nashvillefriendsmeeting.org/
NASHVILLE BUDDHIST TEMPLE: http://thebuddhisttemple.org/
Great show!