Doors 7pm, Music 7:30pm

The Ladles

Before they were The Ladles — Katie, Caroline, and Lucia were the only three undergraduate women in New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Musical Arts program. Katie Martucci (guitar/vocals), Caroline Kuhn (banjo/vocals), and Lucia Pontoniere (fiddle/vocals) formed their trio after discovering an effortless chemistry playing music in their college dorm rooms. The group got its name from a mislabeled bathroom sign at the Conservatory that read “Ladles” instead of “Ladies.”

Each member of the band stands alone as her own impressive artist, but for The Ladles, making music has never been about the individual. The Ladles cherish community, and they use their artistic magnetism to create a sense of connection and belonging for their audiences. In line with their collective nature, each member of The Ladles writes songs and sings lead vocals; there is no clear front-woman. Each Ladles voice has a unique texture, but the real “voice” of The Ladles is their signature harmonic blend. When The Ladles harmonize, you’ll swear you’re hearing one voice, somehow replete with delicious overtones that give them a fuller sound than you’d ever expect from a trio.

Their collective sound feels like The Staves hiking the Appalachian trail with the Punch Brothers. Their music defies definition by a singular genre, and they have put in the years to discover how their sound fits into (and expands) larger traditions. With influences from indie pop and old time to chamber and choral music -- The Ladles embody a rare balance of technical prowess, emotional intuition, and creative exploration. 

In many ways, The Ladles have grown up together. They have navigated a decade of managing a bi-coastal band (NYC and SF), figuring out creative ways to collaborate during the pandemic, and being there for each other, both musically and personally, through the many challenges of their 20s. There’s something inextricable about the way The Ladles music has blossomed as they’ve grown together as people.

At a Ladles show, you can’t help but feel part of something bigger. When you’re swept up in their ethereal soundscapes, you can easily forget what separates you from the person next to you. You’ll feel a collective resonance. And that’s exactly what this band’s after, because, to The Ladles, everything’s better when shared.

https://www.theladles.com/

Benny Bleu

In an infinitely expanding universe nearly fourteen billion years in the making, let’s zoom in on a sleepy hillside in the Finger Lakes, where Benny Bleu Haravitch’s banjo rings out in harmony with it all. Through his lens as a geologist, he contemplates ages of ecological relationships in his folk music. Haravitch’s songwriting is compassionate and patient, but his instrumental offerings are equally profound. A compelling modern clawhammer banjoist, his playing is like a marching band – the bugle melodies in lock-step with the drum corps. On ‘March of the Mollusk’, a new album of mellow banjo tunes, Benny Bleu invites us to walk to the cadence of a snail through the woods, slow and in the flow. For only by softening our pace could we hope to answer the conundrum of modern existence together.

His career is dedicated to purveying honest acoustic roots music, not for the sake of revival, but as a living, breathing community experience in the here and now. An award winning banjo player, and a cherished songwriter, Benny Bleu lives up to the truest form of folk music – made by the folks, for the folks. His hypothesis: building connections with nature, each other, and our history through music makes for a richer future. Simple, testable, repeatable.

https://bennybleu.com/

Tickets: $20 and on sale now at https://abilene.showare.com/ and tonight at the bar