Lyme Public Library hosts the folk duo, “Hungrytown,” Friday, July 31, at 7 p.m. at the library.
After more than a decade of world-wide touring and three album releases, Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson–who comprise ‘Hungrytown’–have earned a reputation for the quality and authenticity of their songwriting: “It’s great to hear an act eschew sentimentality in favor of honesty and to prove that you don’t have to go raiding the memory of others to find the stuff that really good songs are made of,” writes Jedd Beaudoin of Popmatters.
Lyricist Hall is credited with compositions “that sound as timeless as any traditional songs” (Northern Sky, UK) while producer/multi-instrumentalist/husband Ken Anderson is lauded for his “remarkable affinity for instrumental embellishment” (No Depression) and for crafting Hungrytown’s “gorgeous vocal harmonies” (Folk and Roots, UK).
Hall and Anderson met in New York City, where they had already been performing regularly–Hall as a jazz singer, and Anderson as a drummer for a variety of garage bands. Their introduction to folk music came later, when a close friend–who died young due to a tragic misdiagnosis–entrusted to them her collection of 1960s folk albums and her guitar (which has since been featured on all of their albums).
Inspired by the grit and true-to-life experiences she heard in these traditional ballads, Hall was inspired to write the lyrics that later became her first songs, aided by Anderson’s flair for musical arrangement. Soon afterwards, Hall released two solo albums, Rebecca Hall Sings! (2000) and Sunday Afternoon (2002), both produced by Anderson. In the winter of 2003, the duo quit their desk jobs, moved to the green hills of Vermont, and decided to pursue a full-time career as touring musicians.
They released their first CD, Hungrytown, in 2008; Any Forgotten Thing in 2011; and Further West in 2015. The couple continue to spend more than half of each year on the road, especially roads in North America, Europe and New Zealand.
Hungrytown’s music has received extensive radio airplay worldwide and has appeared on several television shows, including the Independent Film Channel’s hit series, Portlandia.
The New Port Richey Public Library, Fla., comments,“Rebecca and Ken have been performing on the NPR Library stage for years. They are a programmer’s dream, profoundly talented and down to earth. Hungrytown is the real deal, sharing folk traditions in their own unique enchanting style, and they are continually requested by our community.”
Las Cruces Public Library, N.M., notes, “When not performing, this duo is known as Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson and you will need to go a long way to find a more talented and likeable couple. Their music mixes the snow of their home in Vermont, the dew on the grass of a cool summer morning in the Appalachians, the hard-scrabble grittiness and pluck of common folk the world over together with the melancholy of lost loves, broken hearts, and shattered dreams, distilling it into an intoxicating, hauntingly seductive blend that you always want more of.”
Chips and dips will be served at the concert.
Register at the Library.