NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED AND WILL BE RESCHEDULED LATER THIS YEAR.

Ash & Eric have never shied away from life’s hard edges. The couple’s recent album “Sure” (May 2022) is “a tale of love… [with] some heartaches and a pinch of disputation along the way” (Americana UK).

Hailing from the gritty heart of New England (Worcester, MA), the two find consolation in discovering beauty in the challenges of life. Their musings reflect the hope and pain we all experience, sung in voices as vulnerable and honest as their lyrics.

No Depression magazine says their writing will leave listeners “...coming away from many of these [songs] cleansed”. Their warm harmonies, swirling acoustic guitars, and easy stage presence have earned them a dedicated following in the emerging US folk scene, performing with folk legends like Livingston Taylor, Mark Erelli and Vance Gilbert.

Nominated in 2022 for "Americana Band of the Year" in the New England Music Awards, and "Americana Artist of the Year" in the Boston Music Awards, Ash & Eric return to W.Whitman Books after a sold out 2022 appearance to share new stories and music.

"… if this is where folk music is in 2022 then that old genre has found firm ground." - Americana Highways, “Sure” album review

Join Ash & Eric for an intimate Sunday afternoon filled with stories and harmony.

SOLD OUT!

Following up on her sold-out concert last Fall, Acoustic Vibe Café @ W.Whitman Books is pleased to welcome back alt-country singer/songwriter/fiddler Sara Milonovich.

Milonovich, who grew up on a working farm in rural New York, was leading her own band by age nine.  She has won awards for fiddling, singing and composing, and has performed throughout North & South America, Europe and beyond. 

Among the last generations to learn traditional music as it was passed down firsthand from the grange halls of the North Country, a diverse trajectory has led her through a busy career as an accompanist and collaborator with such artists as Richard Shindell, Pete Seeger (including on his Grammy-winning At 89 album), and many others. She also currently appears as a featured violinist/fiddler in the hit Broadway musical, “Come From Away”.

With her band Daisycutter, Milonovich offers an ode to the blue-collar north on her latest album Northeast, exploring down-and-out cities, abandoned farms, heartbreak, resilience, and hope - all things the Northeast shares with the rest of blue collar America. For this show, she will be joined by her longtime guitarist & Daisycutter bandmate Greg Anderson.

Copies of her Northeast CD will be available for sale at the performance.

JUST ANNOUNCED! Ash and Eric nominated for "Americana Band of the Year" in the New England Music Awards, and "Americana Artist of the Year" in the Boston Music Awards.

Ash & Eric have never shied away from life’s hard edges. The couple’s new album “Sure” (May 2022) is “a tale of love… [with] some heartaches and a pinch of disputation along the way” (Americana UK).

Hailing from the gritty heart of New England (Worcester, MA), the two find consolation in discovering beauty in the challenges of life. Their musings reflect the hope and pain we all experience, sung in voices as vulnerable and honest as their lyrics.

No Depression magazine says their writing will leave listeners “...coming away from many of these [songs] cleansed”. Their warm harmonies, swirling acoustic guitars, and easy stage presence have earned them a dedicated following in the emerging US folk scene, performing with folk legends like Livingston Taylor, Mark Erelli and Vance Gilbert.

Their newly released cd “Sure”, was recorded, mixed and produced by Eric at a boarding school in Western Massachusetts, and will be accompanied by a feature-length film, releasing in fall 2022.

"… if this is where folk music is in 2022 then that old genre has found firm ground." - Americana Highways, “Sure” album review

Join Ash & Eric for an intimate Sunday afternoon filled with stories and harmony.

We are pleased to welcome back perennial audience favorite Trae Sheehan for his third appearance at Acoustic Vibe Café @ W.Whitman Books.

Sheehan last performed here in Fall 2001 to a sold out audience, and now returns to perform songs from his recent CD “Hello from the End of the World” and new songs from his new EP scheduled for release in October 2022. See video clip of his previous performance here below:

Born in the heart of Appalachia, singer/songwriter Trae grew up surrounded by music and family in his home state of West Virginia. He pulls inspiration from legendary storytellers such as Bob Dylan, the Eagles, and Randy Newman to form his unique songwriting palette and deliver a sound that can only come from the deep roots of an old West Virginia soul.

Sheehan’s earlier album Arizona hit #8 on the Roots Radio Charts and received significant international radio airplay and recognition pushing the boundaries of where he had been and giving a glimpse of where he was headed.

His latest CD “Hello from the End of the World,” recorded over a short period in the Hudson Valley of New York, reached the Top 100 on the Americana Albums Chart.

Join Trae on October 16 for an energetic fun-filled afternoon of music.

Modern-folk duo Friction Farm—Aidan Quinn and Christine Stay-- is a husband and wife team of traveling troubadours who combine storytelling, social commentary and humor to create songs of everyday life, local heroes, and quirky observations.

Their lyrically rich, harmony-driven songs earned them spots as Kerrville New Folk Finalists, Falcon Ridge Emerging Artists, and South Florida Folk Festival Songwriter winners.

Aidan and Christine feel at home on the road and on stage. Audiences lean into their stories, laugh at their humor, are inspired to do a little good in the world, and sing along. Their latest CD, “Evidence of Hope ”, which reached #10 on the Folk Radio Chart, was inspired by the collision of strong political polarity with personal kindness, the intersection of fragility and breathtaking beauty.

Join Aidan and Chris for a Sunday afternoon of music and storytelling that will leave you wanting more.

Singer- songwriter, storyteller and world-renowned song-leader, Reggie Harris is an interpreter of the global music narrative. A passionate, engaging inspirational entertainer and concert artist, Reggie is known for focusing new energy on the important role of music in the discourse for inclusion and the struggle for human rights using the lessons of history as a base. As an expert on the music of the Underground Railroad and the Modern Civil Rights Movement, he is at home on stage as performer, lecturer, or leading classroom discussions.

A 2021 winner of both the Spirit of Folk Award from Folk Alliance International and the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Award, Reggie was on CNN’s 2020 Silence is Not An Option program with Don Lemon, and in the New York Times to discuss his familial connection as the descendant of slavery as a great-great-great grandson of confederate General Williams Carter Wickham and his slave Bibhanna Hewlett with his White cousins. 

His 2018 CD “Ready To Go” ranked as the #5 CD of the year on the Folk DJ Charts and was in the top 30 on the US Folk DJ charts for 5 months of 2018. The title cut was the #1 song for May 2018.  

His latest release “On Solid Ground" was ranked as the #2 CD for 2021 on the FAI radio charts. The title cut was nominated as Folk Alliance Song of the Year.  

Reggie’s many recordings and collaborative CDs can be found at: www.Reggieharrismusic.com. Join Reggie on August 13 for an entertaining and inspirational evening of song and storytelling. 

Show runs from Friday, August 12 to Sunday, August 28 during regular store hours 

Blind people taking photographs? It may seem unbelievable but members of The Seeing With Photography Collective (SWPC) have been making pictures for over 25 years.  W.Whitman Books is pleased to welcome back the Collective this summer to showcase members and their new photographic works.

The Collective is a group of blind, visually impaired and sighted photographers who create haunting and poetic images that have been exhibited in galleries around the world where their captivating photos have transported viewers into their unique dream world of surreal portraits.  

The group originated from a photography class in 1997 for blind and sight impaired students where students were taught the technique of light painting that involves using the mind in a place where all are equally in the dark. It isn’t about capturing a decisive moment, as much as constructing something.  

Despite sight loss, collective members all have memories and ideas to explore in their mind's eye long after their biological eyes have given up on the act and art of looking.  The images are recreated again-- different, not duplicates, not snapshots, but works that bring out the memory or theme with the perspectives all shifted, energized, sparkling.

Take time this August to explore the art of photography as you’ve never experienced it before!

Learn more about the collective by visiting https://www.seeingwithphotography.com