(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Outpost in the Burbs presents The Milk Carton Kids on Friday, December 6, 2019. The concert will take place at 8:00pm (doors are at 7:00pm) at the First Congregational Church, 40 S. Fullerton Avenue. Opening the show will be New England-based multi-instrumentalist Mark Erelli. Outpost volunteers will be collecting donations of new, unwrapped toys for Toys For Tots at this concert.
"The Milk Carton Kids' Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale have long drawn influence from the rich vocal harmonies of Simon & Garfunkel, the intricately twinned acoustic guitars of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and, in concert, the deadpan/goofy banter of The Smothers Brothers . The band's core ingredients — not to mention a gift for warm, intricate song-craft — render The Milk Carton Kids' records (and performances) practically irresistible.” (NPR).
The Milk Carton Kids’ latest album, All the Things That I Did and All the Things that I Didn’t Do, (ANTI-Records, June 2019) marked the first time that acoustic duo Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale brought a band into the studio with them. "Musically we knew we were going to make the record with a bigger sonic palette," says Ryan. "It was liberating to know we wouldn’t have to be able to carry every song with just our two guitars."
Since their last studio album, Monterey (ANTI- 2015), life has changed dramatically for The Milk Carton Kids. Pattengale has moved to, and is now producing records in Nashville. Ryan is now the father of two children and works as a producer on Live from Here with Chris Thile, the reboot of A Prairie Home Companion. A break from years of non-stop touring, Ryan says, has yielded "space outside of the band that gives us perspective on what the band is."
But it's not just the addition of the band here that creates something new. National politics left Ryan feeling disoriented and mournful. Pattengale’s relationship of seven years ended, and he found himself unexpectedly needing surgery for cancer. (He is cancer-free now, and accidentally broke his cigarette habit in the process.)
Though they didn't approach the new album conceptually, a theme of shattered realities began to emerge out of the songs that sparked to life. Recent events provided a bruising background for the record, yet the project is somehow bigger than any personal grief. Two-part harmonies ride acoustic guitars high above the haunting landscape created by the presence of the band, as if Americana went searching for a lost America.
Produced by Joe Henry and engineered by Ryan Freeland, All the Things That I Did and All The Things That I Didn't Do was recorded in the Sun Room at House of Blues Studio in Nashville. Mixed by Pattengale, the album was mastered by Kim Rosen. If previous Milk Carton Kids productions recall plaintive missives from a faraway hometown, these songs sound more intimate, like a tragic midnight knock at your front door.
New England-based multi-instrumentalist Mark Erelli wears many hats—singer, songwriter, sideman, producer--but approaches each of these varied roles with a belief in the transformative power of paying attention. Bearing witness to small details and fleet moments is what dignifies our everyday stories, rendering the mundane profound. This principle governs Erelli’s approach to his craft, and is uniquely evident on his latest release, Mixtape, which features revelatory reinterpretations of songs by the Grateful Dead, Neko Case, Roy Orbison and others.
Erelli’s two decade career highlights include 11 solo albums, stints accompanying Josh Ritter, Paul Cole and Anais Mitchell, and a pair of records he produced for Grammy-winning songwriter Lori McKenna. Ever since Billboard magazine heralded the “simple, atmospheric grace” of his Signature Sounds debut, Erelli’s belief in the sacredness of an examined life has driven him between the ostensible extremes of lullabies and murder ballads, western swing, and protest anthems.
Tickets for this show are available for purchase online or at Watchung Booksellers, 54 Fairfield Street, Montclair (973-744-7177).
Outpost in the Burbs is an all-volunteer nonprofit outreach organization in Montclair dedicated to building community through music, service, and cultural events. For over thirty years, the Outpost has presented more than 450 concerts by internationally known artists such as Judy Collins, Roger McGuinn,, Jorma Kaukonen, Jimmy Webb, Richie Havens, J.D. Souther, The Jayhawks, Nick Lowe, and Dar Williams. In addition to promoting and staffing concerts, Outpost volunteers have donated many hours of their time through programs affiliated with Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots, the Human Needs Food Pantry of Montclair, the Community Food Bank of N.J., Dress for Success, MESH (Montclair Emergency Services for the Homeless), and a soup kitchen run by Outpost volunteers in Orange, NJ.
