Maine

Chelsea Berry returns to Maine, to open for Livingston Taylor in Portland

Published

2 years ago

June 1, 2022

Chelsea Berry returns to Maine, to open for Livingston Taylor in Portland

Chelsea Berry Submitted photograph

Why do I write about an artist? Most likely a query a few of you could be pondering. Nicely, within the case of immediately’s topic, Chelsea Berry, it was so simple as listening to her voice. Having been doing this since 1969, the energy of a vocal efficiency is what clinches the deal for me, and after watching the movies on her web site the place her energy, ardour and persona command respect and attentiveness from her viewers, I needed to discover out extra about this singer-songwriter and one of the best ways to do this is to go on to the supply. I noticed that she can be opening for Livingston Taylor at One Longfellow Sq. on the 4th of this month down in Portland, in order that appeared like nearly as good a time as any to do it. So I organized to do a cellphone name with Berry and found that she and her fiancée had been pulled over of their truck so she and I may chat simpler.

Q: Not that way back, I interview Mr. Taylor for a present he was doing at Johnson Corridor — had been you his opening act at that venue?
Berry: I believe the final present I did with Liv was in Gardiner, I imagine.

Q: Yup, that was the gig I used to be referring to and let’s face it, you couldn’t ask to open for a extra certified individual so far as performing goes.
Berry: Yeah, he’s the consummate trainer. He units an unbelievable instance and its fairly nice being with him for numerous causes. He and I at all times joke that I’m sort of like the child he by no means had and so now we have a whole lot of frequent pursuits past music, as effectively; so we get pleasure from one another’s firm on the street and there are at all times issues to be taught. He’s good about reminding me once I want a bit nudge right here or there — he’s an exquisite trainer.

Q: Seeing you’re a new artist to me I’ve acquired to ask, how lengthy have you ever been doing all your musical profession?
Berry: I began enjoying guitar once I was 15, my dad taught me the right way to play guitar, and inside every week it was Father’s Day so I took the three chords he taught me and wrote a tune for him for Father’s Day and that was sort of the start of the top of the songwriting a part of it (chuckle). I began attending some songwriting workshops and issues like that, I had a babysitter who was a folks singer-songwriter in Alaska the place I grew up and I adopted her rather a lot once I was in highschool.

Q: So far as singer-songwriters go, I need to provide you with a heads-up about Connor Garvey who I interviewed simply yesterday, his new album is killer.
Berry: Oh, I do know Connor, not personally however I do know his music and of him.

Q: Nicely, I discover the musical panorama of Maine is well-tapped, some distinctive individuals in music both come from right here or get drawn to right here, it’s sort of neat.
Berry: Nicely, for me, and I’ve lived each in New York and Chicago for some time, finally I discover my peace in my songwriting comes out of being within the woods, being on the ocean, and being within the mountains. So I believe you’re proper that persons are born in it or search it out. It’s much more enjoyable to hang around on the mountains and within the timber for me than attempting to scrape by my subsequent hire verify for my condo.

Q: Nicely, for the oldsters who, like me, usually are not aware of your music, what can they count on from this One Longfellow present?
Berry: “What can they count on?” Oh, man, I virtually got here up with one thing actually sassy to say, however, (laughter)!

Q: Oh, please — don’t hesitate.
Berry: (Laughter) Livingston and I’ve a extremely enjoyable rapport. Plenty of instances whenever you see an opener it’s a separate factor: you see the opener, there’s a set break, and so they you see the headliner. Whether or not or not the music is comparable, it’s two very various things. When Liv and I began years in the past it was like that however the extra time we spent collectively the extra collaboration we began doing. So the way in which that we do it’s he comes out and introduces me and I sing my set, then I carry him again out and we do duets collectively. After which once more after his set, on the finish of the evening, he brings me again out and we sing collectively some extra. So there’s a whole lot of amusing stage banter that goes on and a whole lot of power, I imply, anybody who has seen Livingston carry out is aware of he’s an entertainer, so it’s very dynamic, we’re each dynamic performers and have a whole lot of enjoyable collectively, and I believe that individuals can actually see that and so they get pleasure from watching us get pleasure from one another’s firm on stage.

Q: I want to remark not solely in your vocal qualities but in addition your capacity to carry out another person’s tune and make it your individual, that’s not a straightforward factor to do.
Berry: Nicely, the way in which that the majority of us write music is as a result of we grew up listening to music, and there are issues that transfer us and encourage us, and we aspire to be higher writers so we do the most effective we are able to overlaying different individuals’s songs to be able to learn to be higher writers.

Q: Talking of songwriting, do you will have a brand new undertaking that you simply’re engaged on for the time being?
Berry: I do, truly, and I haven’t talked about it with anybody but, so right here you go.

Q: Alright, that sounds good … let’s hear it!
Berry: I used to be doing a present with Livingston and staying at a bed-and-breakfast that evening. The subsequent morning I apologized to the proprietor for coming in late and defined that I had completed a present that earlier night. She acquired excited and requested if I’d write her a tune for her son who had died from a Fentanyl overdose the yr earlier than. I did and despatched it to her, she preferred it and stated that she wished to do a complete file. So I’m penning this album for her and it’s extra for the people who find themselves left behind possibly, however she’s sending me into the studio — I’m doing the entire writing, it’s all authentic stuff — and as soon as the album is completed the proceeds of gross sales will go in direction of rehabilitation and consciousness. We’re doing a launch present in Alton, New Hampshire in August.

Q: Is there something, Chelsea, that you simply’d like me to cross on to the readers of this text?
Berry: Oh, man! Nicely, there are a thousand issues I’d such as you to cross on however we don’t have time (laughter) …

Q: Nicely, in the event you needed to choose one, what would it not be?
Berry: If I needed to choose one (pause) effectively, these are Maine-based papers so I’d direct it to Maine-based people: It’s been actually magical to relocate right here — do you know that? I stay up right here now.

Q: Say what?!
Berry: Yeah, my fiancée and I moved to Gouldsboro, which is simply north of Acadia Nationwide Park. I’m truly wanting on the mountains as I’m speaking with you proper now. He constructed a cabin up right here years in the past and we moved up right here full-time through the pandemic. I’ve lived in so many alternative locations all around the United States — we journey rather a lot and Maine is such an superior place to come back dwelling to. In order that’s what I might need individuals to know: how grateful I’m that I’ve landed right here!

Q: Is there something we haven’t mentioned that you simply assume we must always?
Berry: Nicely, probably not. I’m excited to be coming again to One Longfellow. I’ve performed there numerous instances and it’s considered one of my favourite venues to play, truly, of all of the venues I’ve performed simply due to the way in which it’s arrange: it feels very intimate, it’s a enjoyable little house, so I’m wanting ahead to that.

Fortunate Clark, a 2018 “Conserving the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent greater than 50 years writing about good music and the individuals who make it. He may be reached at [email protected] when you have any questions, feedback or ideas.

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Maine

Martha Stewart redid her Maine living room, and the Internet is not loving it

Published

6 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

Martha Stewart redid her Maine living room, and the Internet is not loving it

Martha Stewart was “surprised” by the “harsh judgement” commenters were hurling at her Maine living room redo, which she shared on social media earlier this week.

The earlier reveal post featured multiple beige-and-black scenes from Stewart’s recently redecorated living room.

Aside from beige sofas and dark wood and black accents, artwork of birds and plenty of furniture made to look like wood lined the lavish rooms.

She wrote in the initial post, that she had a “big day rearranging the furniture in the three main living rooms at Skyland,” noting that she “switched the living room from grey blue upholstery to a creamy pale buttery yellow.”

Commenters were less than pleased with Stewart’s latest design choices, with one writing that the redecorated living space “looks old and stuffy” and another noting that it’s “not your best work” and that the room feels “empty like no soul empty.”

Not all the comments were critical, though, with plenty of fans chiming in on the original post to let the queen of domesticity know they think her home is “beautiful.”

“I have so missed your interior decorating segments,” one commenter wrote. “YES YES YES to all of this.”

Stewart said in her initial post that some of the furniture was repurposed from a home she sold two years ago, and, in an attempt to explain herself and design choices, provided further context on the redecoration on Thursday.

“I and my Maine helpers spent three hours moving out the old furniture and putting in the new,” Stewart said Thursday, adding that she and her team “were pleased that the pieces actually fit the room and were proportionate to the large size of the space.”

She made clear that the refresh “was not a ‘decorator’s’ professional installation,” rather, “It was an attempt to change quickly and efficiently.”

“Making a house a home, or a room a beautiful livable space takes a lot more than three hours,” Stewart continued on Instagram. “Of course there will be color, plants, mirrors, a new rug or two and other art and objects Stay tuned!!!!”

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Maine

Martha Stewart Defended Her Maine Summer Home Update After the Internet's Harsh Critique

Published

11 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

Martha Stewart Defended Her Maine Summer Home Update After the Internet's Harsh Critique

No home renovation is safe from the brutal judgment of the internet. Not even Martha Stewart, whose Maine summer home apparently did not pass muster with Instagram commenters, is immune.

On July 2, Stewart posted to Instagram with photos from her newly rearranged living room, writing, “We switched the living room from grey blue upholstery to a creamy pale buttery yellow ( all the yellow came from lily pond lane which I sold two years ago!) the library is much more comfortable now and the faux Bois table is now the card table I love the rustic yet elegant charm of this lovely 1925 house.”

But I guess her social media followers were not that charmed.

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Comments from unimpressed Instagram users included, “Looks old and stuffy,” and, “Going to be honest…you could hire a better decorator,” and, “Doesn’t look homey and inviting,” and, “Yuck. It looks like a Marriott suite living room in 1987.”

But if you were expecting Martha Stewart not to respond to all this criticism, you’d be deeply mistaken.

“I rarely read all the comments that come in after I post but because I was so happy at the transformation of my Maine living room I did go through many of the comments and was surprised at the harsh judgment so many displayed,” she wrote in a follow-up post on July 4. She continued that it took her and her helpers three hours to replace all of the furniture, and that they were pleased with how well everything fit, adding that it was not a professional installation from a decorator, just a quick facelift. “Making a house a home, or a room a beautiful livable space takes a lot more than three hours. Of course there will be color, plants, mirrors, a new rug or two and other art and objects Stay tuned!!!!”

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Maine

Editorial: For so many the work goes on in Vacationland • Maine Morning Star

Published

17 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

Editorial: For so many the work goes on in Vacationland • Maine Morning Star

“Summer is an interesting time in Maine,” Rev. Jeffery Logan, executive director and a co-pastor at Grace-Street Ministry, told a small crowd gathered in Portland’s Old Port [last week].

“Because the rest of the year is such a meteorological maelstrom, the summer often feels like time out of time. A period during which we can forget pretty much everything except barbecues, beach days, and time off from whatever job it is we do.”

Logan, who goes by Pastor Jeff, and others were gathered for the Longest Day of Homelessness sit-out, an annual event organized by Homeless Voices for Justice, to remind the public of the “tragedy and injustice of homelessness,” even in the summer months.

Pastor Jeff shared how donations, which often take the form of Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards, fall off in the summer months. “The unhoused don’t get a summer vacation,” he said.

“Yes, people living outside do not currently have to worry about freezing to death or about losing fingers and toes, and that is a blessing,” he said. “But when it’s 90 degrees one day and 60 degrees and raining the next, it’s still a challenge and physical danger to be outside.”

The sit-out, which was planned to coincide with one of the longest days of the year, was held on a toasty, humid afternoon, and was preceded by a series of record-hot days across Maine.

Some of the speakers, who were formerly or currently unhoused, talked about friends who froze to death. Pastor Jeff and others described the challenge of protecting one’s belongings from the elements—or from a front loader commissioned by the city of Portland.

Many of those who passed by the event were likely tourists, or taking the day off.

The reality of living in Vacationland, for many Mainers, is working while others are not. In fact, many in service and related industries make the bulk of their income during these months. And when they get a day off, even if it’s rare, they want to check out, unplug, hit the beach or the lake.

Listening to Pastor Jeff made me wonder what else are people on vacation — or seeking a vacation — from?

More and more I hear that people are tired — of bad news, of economic woes, of politics — and want a break. And who can blame them? It’s been a long few years.

In addition to the urgent needs of people who are unhoused, there are other encroaching threats: the changing climate, the loss of bodily autonomy, the erosion of democracy, etc. It’s an overwhelming list and I fear that many with the privilege to ignore the maelstrom and retreat to a climate-controlled cocoon may never come back out.

But, as Pastor Jeff noted, not everyone has the luxury of being able to unsubscribe from it all. Our work is not done, he said. Our work cannot take the summer off.

Whether feeding people who don’t have homes, or providing for the elderly or sick, there are many care workers and service providers who continue to carry the weight of humanity, regardless of the day or season.

The silver lining is that, while we can’t disconnect from the challenges that surround us, being part of something bigger than oneself, helping someone in need, and building community can be deeply rejuvenating, too.

Ending with a quote from Frederick Douglass, Pastor Jeff said, “I prayed for 20 years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”

“So let’s keep on walking,” he added. “We’ve got miles to go before we sleep.”

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