Episode Summary
Welcome to the second pilot episode of Stars in the Rafters. This episode we celebrate hope with the coming of spring. Featuring music from Low Lily, Buddy System, Mary Lea, Brendan Taaffe, and Owen Morrison; and a music and poetry collaboration between Aaron Marcus and Sam Sanders, featuring a poem by Susan Reid. Charis Boke contributes two more poems: one by Rumi and one by e.e. cummings. Visit www.starsintherafters.com to contribute audio to the podcast, or to contact us.
Episode Notes
1. Hope Lingers On – Low Lily (Brattleboro, VT). This beautiful anthem, written by Lissa Schneckenburger, is from Low Lily’s album 10,000 Days Like These. The song features Liz Simmons (vocals, clapping), Lissa Schneckenburger (vocals, clapping), Flynn Cohen (vocals), Stefan Amidon (vocals), and Charlie Van Kirk (clapping & stomping). www.LowLily.com
2. An evolving course, by Rumi, read by Charis Boke (Springfield, VT).
3. Wild Blueberries – Buddy System (MA and NC). Julie Vallimont named this jig for the joy she felt every summer as a child picking blueberries in the weeds on her family’s property. It’s found on Buddy System’s album Ride the Wheel and features Julie on piano and Noah VanNorstrand on tenor guitar. www.buddysystemband.com
4. Middle of Night – Mary Lea (Brattleboro, VT). This waltz by Kate Barnes is performed by Mary Lea (violin), Jessica Murrow (oboe & English horn), Kate Barnes (piano), and Ralph Gordon (bass). From Between Two Worlds, by Mary Lea & Friends.
5. Train on the Island – Brendan Taaffe (Brattleboro, VT). A traditional song from Brendan’s album Can’t Hold The Wheel, which blends Zimbabwean mbira (Brendan) with clawhammer banjo (Adam Hurt). www.brendantaaffe.com
6. i carry your heart with me, by e.e. cummings, read by Charis Boke (Springfield, VT).
7. Millbrook – Owen Morrison (Washington DC). From Owen’s album of original waltzes, Daybreak. Owen’s guitar is joined by Anna Patton on clarinet and Naomi Morse on fiddle. Owen says, “Millbrook is named after the town in NY where my grandmother Libby Lindsay lived when I was a child. It is also where my uncle Ted raised his family and where my aunt Nan continues to live. The places we visit repeatedly when we are young have a special magic that we cherish for the rest of our lives.”
8. Marisa’s / North Street in Early June – Aaron Marcus (Montpelier, VT). This collaboration between Aaron Marcus and Sam Sanders features Aaron playing this original tune on piano, while Sam reads Susan Reid’s beautiful poem. From Aaron’s album Men Don’t Cry.
The opening music is “The Pearl in Sorrow’s Hand” by Julie Vallimont, from her album Dark Sky, Bright Stars. All content courtesy of the artists, all rights reserved.