SPOTTISWOODE opens the night with his trademark combo of blues, rock, folk, cabaret and everything in between.
Referred to as a “genius” and a “downtown ringleader” by The New Yorker, Spottiswoode is the son of an American opera singer and an English clergyman. WNYC’s legendary DJ John Schaefer describes him as “one of New York’s more colorful band leaders for more than a decade.”
Spottiswoode’s music travels the gamut, drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen, Ray Davies, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Jim Morrison. Still, he’s very much his own man. The Independent Music Award winner “evokes real emotions, sometimes different ones in a single song” (Dan Reed, WXPN).
HENRY DENNIS fuses lyrical worlds he created with Ramsay Mackay as ‘The Fumes Of Mars’, and the new worlds he has conjured since as a solo artist for an upcoming album called ‘Remember’.
When playing live he features pared-down guitar and harmonic vocal loops that capture the raw emotion and energy of blues and psychedelic prog-rock.
A troubadour with a compelling voice, poignant lyrics and a gritty determination to his music, he draws influences from legends such as David Bowie, Elton John, Bruno Mars, and Neil Diamond. The intimacy of these songs, when combined with more complex looped arrangements, take you on a surprising and haunting sonic journey.
