Tuesday night open mics at Takoma Spark*.
7112 Willow Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912 | signup at 6pm, music at 7pm
Sponsored in conjunction with Institute of Musical Traditions and School of Musical Traditions at SMT’s new lesson space in Takoma Park, we’ve got a small room for performances and we’re not afraid to use it. This is NOT a restaurant so bring your own food or drink if you want to eat or drink! (no alcohol please, and of course please clean up after yourself). House keyboard in the house. The evening is free, but bring a little something for the featured artist donation portal.
We’re not big enough for amps or drumkits, so don’t bring’em. 2 songs, 10 minutes, 1 pun – whichever’s shorter. Webcasting Live on Facebook.com/robsopenmics, YouTube.com/robsopenmics and Twitch.tv/ilyaimy.
TONIGHT we’re joined by special guest star Heather Aubrey Lloyd!
Maybe you know her as my partner for the last 20 years, or maybe you know her as a dazzling solo singer/songwriter – either way you know you shouldn’t miss my LAST FEATURE OF THE YEAR!!!
Heather Aubrey Lloyd has co-fronted Baltimore’s ilyAIMY for two decades. Traveling the country playing everything from bait shops to clothing-optional resorts, Lloyd’s lyrical collection of stories became her first solo studio effort, “A Message in the Mess.” Populated by Hippie Tooth Faeries and Jackson Pollock reincarnated as a flock of scatological pigeons … each narrative is offered up in her passionate, “sing-me-the-phone-book” alto. Her finger-picked guitar says folk. Her lyrics show the influence of Baltimore’s slam poetry scene. Her hand percussion says world music. “Janis Joplin … and Joni Mitchell blended together,” says The Montgomery Caller. With its inventive arrangements and delightfully bizarre percussion (yes, that really is recorded bubble wrap), “Mess” received the Director’s Award for Album of the Year from the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, and the awards haven’t stopped since: 2018 No Depression Magazine Songwriting Award Finalist, 2018 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival MOST WANTED Artist, 2018 National Women’s Music Festival Emerging Artist, 2017 Telluride Troubadour Top 4. She is a Grand Prize winner of the prestigious Bernard Ebb Songwriting Award (2019). Live shows are back, with Lloyd opening shows for Gretchen Peters and Gordon Lightfoot in Summer 2022. Lloyd plans to release new music in 2022, featuring songs about mental health, the plight of refugees, and aging gracefully.
More about Heather at heatheraubreylloyd.com
*Wuzza Takoma Spark you might ask? Dave Eisner has chosen to commemorate an arts collective we used to have here in Takoma Park by naming this NEW performance space at School of Musical Traditions after our sadly-departed Rob Nicholson’s strange and wonderful gatherings. Takoma Spark – to spark creativity and inspiration into a warm and inviting, roaring (but ne’r searing) open flame!