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Saturday, 5/17: TWO SHOWS: 7pm & 10pm - $15/$17
Chris Pureka / Andrea Gibson
"A New England folkie with a parched, wounded voice and a mean way with an acoustic guitar, Pureka makes romantic depression seem, somehow, invigorating."-LA Daily News
Chris Pureka's sophomore release, Dryland plays like the way she enters a room: with low, deliberate airs, quietly demanding respect. One stark, solo acoustic guitar builds into layered swan songs and raspy serenades that resonate with unassuming depth and candor.
Dryland is the highly-anticipated follow-up to Pureka's 2004 debut, "Driving North," for which the rising newcomer has landed praise from publications like Performing Songwriter, Time Out New York, Nashville City Paper and many others. Comparisons flow easily: some recognize the poetry and grit of a young Bruce Springsteen or a troubled Ryan Adams. Others see Nashville shining on the horizon for this indie-acoustic songstress whose simple, yet heartfelt and vulnerable delivery often resembles shades of female greats like Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch or Mary Gauthier.
A native New Englander, the 27 year-old Pureka came to music at an early age, writing songs on her parents out of tune piano before the age of eight; but it wasnt until she reached sixteen that she discovered the guitar and began playing in earnest. Following high school, Pureka attended Wesleyan University where she was a student of science and graduated to become an assistant in a biology lab at Smith College. All the while Pureka's musical ambitions persevered. In 2001 she released a 7-song, self-titled EP and shortly thereafter landed a three-month national tour with folk poet Alix Olson. With the release of Driving North in 2004, Pureka left science behind and discovered her niche as a touring singer songwriter.
While hardship, longing and loss are all common themes of Pureka's life and music, they're also tempered by messages of hope, strength and perseverance. Following in that spirit, Dryland heralds the return of a smart, evolving artist who has already glimpsed sun through the clouds and knows how to keep moving forward with an eye for even brighter days ahead.
Rousing audiences throughout the United States and Canada with her poignant message and her genuine interest in generating change, Andrea Gibson's words are powerful, compassionate, and inspiring. She is a queer poet/activist whose work deconstructs the foundations of the current political machine, highlighting issues such as patriarchy, gender norms, white-supremacy, and capitalist culture.
Andrea moved from New Orleans to Colorado in 1999, where she began attending weekly poetry readings at Denver's political hub, The Mercury Café. In a year's time she had rushed the scene, making her mark with the 2000 Denver Slam Team at The National Poetry Slam in Providence, Rhode Island. In the same year, Andrea joined Vox Feminista, a multi-passionate performance tribe of radical, political women bent on social change through cultural revolution. She went on to become a four-time Denver Grand Slam Champion. Andrea took 4th place out of 350 competing poets in the individual finals at the 2004 National Poetry Slam in St. Louis. In 2006 she captured 3rd place at the Individual World Poetry Slam in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Guileless, genuine, and alive,” Andrea has headlined everywhere from the Nuyorican Poet's Café, to Pride Fests and Lady Fests, to high schools and universities throughout the country (San Francisco Magazine). She has been showcased on Free Speech TV, Dyke TV, the documentary Slam Planet, and Independent Radio Stations nationwide. She is currently a member of the prestigious Bullhorn Collective "comprised of 30 of the highest ranking slam poets and most accomplished performance poets in the world." Andrea's third album of performance poetry about politics, sex, & love, "When the Bough Breaks, was released in 2006.
visit Chris' website
Chris on Youtube
visit Andrea's website
Andrea on Youtube
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