Patty Larkin
1794 Meetinghouse is thrilled to reschedule last summer’s performance
Patty Larkin is one of the most gifted performers in music today. A remarkable guitarist, an imaginative and versatile vocalist, Larkin turns in a riveting performance.
Chicago Tribune
- Patty Larkin — vocals, guitar
Patty Larkin is a visionary of sound and wonder, a real deal version of artistry made of equal parts guitar wizardry, vocals shot through with soul and inventive lyrics that ripple across the terrain of the heart. Patty has captured audiences for over 30 years with an imagination, enchantment, and technical artistry that has redefined the boundaries of the guitar driven singer songwriter.
With eleven studio albums and two live recordings under her belt, Patty mines the intersections of poetry and song with her innovative 14th release, Bird in a Cage, released on her own Road Narrows Records. Bird in a Cage puts poems from ten notable poets to song, including US Poet Laureates William Carlos Williams, Stanley Kunitz, Kay Ryan, Robert Pinsky and Billy Collins, for a new and haunting collection that pulses with the magic of lyricism.
Bird was co-produced by Patty and Mike Denneen, who Patty has called her “musical compass.” For Bird in a Cage, Mike created a lush sonic landscape, playing vintage keyboards on several tracks. Patty and Mike’s shared vision for an album with layered, atmospheric sound was secured with backup support from friends Jonatha Brooke (vocals and guitar), Merrie Amsterburg (vocals) and Marc Schulman (electric guitar), and strings by Catherine Bent (cello) and the Parkington Sisters (violin, viola, vocals). Patty’s long-time drummer and percussionist, Ben Wittman, kicks up the mix on the last track, an inspired version of Billy Collins’ “Introduction to Poetry.”
Patty’s recent projects include Still Green, an album written in a dune shack on the Outer Banks of Cape Cod’s National Seashore, and 25, a retrospective album that includes the contributions of 25 friends, among them Grammy award winners Rosanne Cash, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, and Janis Ian, as well as acclaimed singer songwriters Bruce Cockburn, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Greg Brown, among others. Patty was the Executive Producer of the groundbreaking La Guitara, a compilation of women guitarists actively changing preconceptions about gender and guitar heroes.
Her songs have been covered by various artists including Cher and Holly Cole and have been featured in television and film including Evolution (DreamWorks); Random Hearts (Columbia Pictures); Sliding Doors (Miramax); and Men in Trees. With 11 Boston Music Awards to her credit, Patty is also the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music and she has been honored by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino for her music and philanthropy. She lives with her family on Cape Cod.
An uncommonly articulate guitarist, she has evolved into one of the finest self-accompanists anywhere in popular music.
Boston Globe