Allison Crowe's Tidings Concert at the Nave Gallery: ARTSomerville's EDAF Benefit December 5, 2008

Expect plenty of holiday cheer, laced with overtones of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, jazz and Broadway, as ARTSomerville presents Canada's popular singer-songwriter Allison Crowe’s "Tidings" concert at The Nave Gallery (The Sanctuary, Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, 155 Powderhouse Blvd., Somerville, MA http://www.artsomerville.org ) on Friday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. All concert proceeds to the EveryDay Angels Foundation ( http://www.edaf.org ).

"Music for the season and all time." Tidings stirs together traditional Christmas carols and holiday favourites with an organic blend of rock, jazz, folk, gospel and soul. "The Yuletide find of the year," says The Record. "Be prepared to be amazed," chimes ChristmasReviews.com, "Allison Crowe is a stunningly talented performer." Longtime NPR broadcaster Ross Hocker calls Allison Crowe's show, "The most honest, heartfelt, and directly intimate concert in my entire life."

"Treat yourself to one of the mightiest talents on the singer-songwriter scene today," says Bob Muller, song curator at JoniMitchell.com "Ever wonder what it would have been like to listen to a gifted singer/songwriter from Saskatchewan in a small, intimate hall before she became Joni Mitchell? Don't fret the missed opportunity. There's no need to turn back the clock. Check out Allison Crowe," writes Robert Reid in The Record.

Crowe's rare gift and talent in communicating emotions not only make her a thrilling original act, her role as an interpreter is getting much recognition. "Her version of 'I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)' would give Aretha Franklin goose-bumps," notes Robert Moyes in Boulevard. This month, two major tributes to Leonard Cohen have featured her song contributions.

During her triumphal Beatles Week 2008 concert series, BBC Radio 2 interviewed and recorded Allison Crowe in Liverpool performing "Hallelujah" for an hour-long documentary, "The Fourth, The Fifth, The Minor Fall", that explores the many facets of this Leonard Cohen creation. Other participants include musicians Imogen Heap and Kathryn Williams alongside producers John Lissauer (Leonard Cohen) and Andy Wallace (Jeff Buckley).

UK-based MOJO magazine pays tribute to Leonard Cohen with its December '08 issue which celebrates "deep and moving music, the kind of stuff we need in the run up to the holiday period". Of Allison Crowe's contribution of "Joan of Arc" to its 'All Star Tribute", a cover-mount CD titled "Cohen Covered", MOJO says: "Once famously described by the Vancouver Courier as possessing a style akin to 'Elton John meets Edith Piaf', the Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Crowe is renowned for her ability to blend control and melodrama. Certainly she does so on this spirited cover of Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate classic, a track which also powerfully showcases her considerable talent as a fine interpreter of song."

"It is hard to imagine a singer filled with more passion and talent behind the piano than Allison Crowe," says C.C. Chapman, Boston-based new media executive and music junkie (creator of the Accident Hash podcast).

Allison Crowe’s upcoming Tidings concert, a benefit for the EveryDay Angels Foundation, is presented by The Nave Gallery, a collaboration between ARTSomerville and the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church. Run and staffed completely by volunteers, the non-profit Nave is an important partner in Somerville’s vibrant artst community, and provides local and regional artists space for artistic exchange and exploration.

The EDAF is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to promote volunteerism and inspire grassroots community involvement. Throughout the year, EveryDay Angel community service initiatives include beach shoreline cleanups and partnering with Heifer International ( http://www.theartof.com/edaf/heifer.htm ). Come Winter, EDAF volunteers collect warm clothes and blankets for the needy - as part of "Project Warmth". Concert attendees are asked to bring a new or gently used coat or blanket donation which will be distributed by a local facility to those in need.

Admission to Allison Crowe's Tidings Concert on Friday, December 5, 2008 - 7:30 p.m. at The Nave Gallery is $10.00 Advance ($12.00 door). Advance tickets and reservations are available online @ http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/49088

For more info: http://www.artsomerville.org + http://www.edaf.org + http://www.allisoncrowe.com

Contact: Randy Winchester @ 617-593-3744 + rwinchester@artsomerville.org

Official Website: http://www.allisoncrowe.com/tour.html