Lori Mckenna

The following was submitted by the Unitarian Univeralist Church of Marblehead: Fans of the Beatles, young and old alike, will be elated that the Unitarian Univeralist Church of Marblehead is once again hosting a benefit concert that includes an eclectic mix of talented musicians all singing everyone's favorite Beatles songs. This year's benefit is called "Come Together. "  The benefit takes place on Saturday, June 23 at the UU Church of Marblehead on Mugford Street.

The following was submitted by the Unitarian Univeralist Church of Marblehead: Fans of the Beatles, young and old alike, will be elated that the Unitarian Univeralist Church of Marblehead is once again hosting a benefit concert that includes an eclectic mix of talented musicians all singing everyone's favorite Beatles songs. This year's benefit is called "Come Together. "  The benefit takes place on Saturday, June 23 at the UU Church of Marblehead on Mugford Street.

She rests the acoustic guitar on her lap, the tuning pegs sparkling like jewels under the floodlights. Her eyes are shut. She rocks gently back and forth, listening. Soon it will be her turn to play. But Lori McKenna still can't fully accept that she belongs here. On this Friday night in late January, McKenna is sitting in a circle with three other songwriters at the center of the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, a legendary storefront venue where, if you're lucky, you might witness magic.

She rests the acoustic guitar on her lap, the tuning pegs sparkling like jewels under the floodlights. Her eyes are shut. She rocks gently back and forth, listening. Soon it will be her turn to play. But Lori McKenna still can't fully accept that she belongs here. On this Friday night in late January, McKenna is sitting in a circle with three other songwriters at the center of the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, a legendary storefront venue where, if you're lucky, you might witness magic.

2007 has been a very good year for Lori McKenna. The local singer/songwriter's album "Unglamorous" was released to widespread acclaim, and she managed the transition to a major label without succumbing to middle-of-the-road overkill (no small feat for someone whose songs have been covered by Faith Hill). That refusal to tamper with the strengths she's relied on for years brought her to Club Passim last night, where she began a four-night, six-show residency at the venue that nurtured her career.

CAMBRIDGE - Her house back in Stoughton may have been a mess, but Saturday at Club Passim, Lori McKenna's temporary home for three consecutive nights, the singer-songwriter was in crisp, immaculately skillful form. As the snow swirled outside Passim's cozy confines, McKenna took the stage for the second and final concert of the evening - capping a six-show stand here that began Thursday - and immediately warmed up the room. With an abundance of cheerful verve and a clutch of plucky, tender songs about life's ups and downs that...

Country star Keith Urban’s sixth release gives lie to the idea that angst is the best fuel for songwriting. On this lean but enjoyable eight-song set, Urban and his fellow songwriters are mostly in high spirits. They locate the fizz in the giddy first blush of a crush (“Put You in a Song’’) to the shock and joy of finding a soul mate and building a family (“Without You’’). That cheerfulness is infectious when wedded to the bouncy blend of pop-country and roots rock that has made the Aussie-raised artist a hot commodity in Nashville.

► Today is Thursday, Dec. 22, the 356th day of 2011. There are nine days left in the year. Winter arrives at 12:30 a.m. ► Today's birthdays: Former House Speaker Jim Wright is 89. Actor Hector Elizondo is 75. Country singer Red Steagall is 73. Former World Bank Group President Paul Wolfowitz is 68. Baseball Hall of Famer Steve Carlton is 67. ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer is 66. Rock singer-musician Rick Nielsen is 65. Rock singer Michael Bacon is...

Any song that evokes laughter, tears, and soul-searching can be considered a success. Lori McKenna has been successful for a long time, but her latest release, “Lorraine,’’ out today, is a real high-water mark for the Stoughton singer-songwriter, featuring 13 perfectly crafted gems of observational insight. The album takes its name from McKenna’s own, and that of her mother. Examining both her own life, the legacy of her mom — who died when McKenna was a child — and the vagaries of all types of relationships, McKenna comes to insightful conclusions and churns up even more questions.

Lori McKenna's life story -- now a company-sanctioned, Oprah-certified backstory -- is a good one: a 38-year-old plumber's wife and mother of five from Stoughton, Mass., is discovered by country superstar Faith Hill, who records three of McKenna's songs for a chart-topping album. Hill then takes her out as opening act on a massive concert tour and enlists her husband, Tim McGraw, to co-produce the major-label debut. Warner Bros. is milking it: In the glossy press materials, McKenna's minivan -- loaded with 150,000 carpool-ferrying miles -- is referred to...

The following was submitted me & thee coffeehouse: On Friday, March 16, the me&thee welcomes back Session Americana with special guest, Rose Polenzani. The musicians who make up Session Americana started as a Sunday residency at Toad where they brainstormed songs and jammed together. Swapping songs and spinning tales caught on and the band has been touring festivals, winning new fans and awards ever since.  Rose Polenzani stopped by one evening and it was magic — she and the band just clicked and have performed off and on since, even releasing a CD together.

Tom Weber is a Harvard man, class of '72. During his years in Cambridge he spent countless hours at Club Passim, the Unicorn Coffee House, and other venues that hosted singer-songwriters. He saw Jackson Browne, John Prine, Tom Waits, and many other performers who went on to stardom. "I got to see all my heroes up close and personal," says Weber, who now lives in Pennsylvania. Four decades later, Weber is still attending acoustic-music shows. For the past 10 years, he's done so with a digital video camera in hand.

► Today is Thursday, Dec. 22, the 356th day of 2011. There are nine days left in the year. Winter arrives at 12:30 a.m. ► Today's birthdays: Former House Speaker Jim Wright is 89. Actor Hector Elizondo is 75. Country singer Red Steagall is 73. Former World Bank Group President Paul Wolfowitz is 68. Baseball Hall of Famer Steve Carlton is 67. ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer is 66. Rock singer-musician Rick Nielsen is 65. Rock singer Michael Bacon is...

LORI MCKENNA With Mark Erelli, Jake Armerding, Zack Hickman, and Dean Fields At: Club Passim, tonight through Sunday. At press time, half the shows were sold out but tickets were still available for tonight at 10 and Sunday at 5 and 8 p.m. Tickets: $30. 617-492-7679, www.clubpassim.org Lori McKenna jokes that she'd like to make a T-shirt that reads something like "Alison Krauss Recorded One of My Songs!" The Stoughton singer-songwriter and mother of five wrote "My Love Follows You Where You Go" with Nashville songwriter pals (and parents themselves)

KEITH URBAN With Jake Owen At: TD Garden, tonight at 7:30. Tickets: $25-$75. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com Keith Urban is taking the title of his hit 2010 album, “Get Closer,’’ to heart on his current tour, which stops at the TD Garden tonight. The Grammy-winning country star - and husband to actress Nicole Kidman - has built a stage that allows him to walk right down into the first few rows of fans. (On the opening night of his tour he got a little too close when he took a tumble off the front, but the New Zealand-born, Australia-raised singer-songwriter...

The following was submitted by Me & Thee Coffeehouse: Singer/songwriter Amy Black released her sophomore album entitled One Time on March 29, 2011. After a decade of success in the business world, Black is taking a chance and following her music dreams with this new release. The rootsy collection of revealing and authentic tunes was recorded with producer, Lorne Entress (Lori McKenna, Bittertown). Available digitally, the album's foundation is a traditional American roots sound but it's not without a dash of rock and soul.

Pop Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Storefront Records ESSENTIAL "Merrimack River" Gosh, it's hard to recover from a stint in the teen-pop trenches. Mandy Moore has been trying for years to convince music lovers that she's got more to offer than the cheap hooks and recycled dance beats that made her a sort of poor man's Britney back in the day. In 2003 she released a covers collection tipping her hat to Carole King, Elton John, Joe Jackson, and Todd Rundgren.

LORI MCKENNA With Mark Erelli, Jake Armerding, Zack Hickman, and Dean Fields At: Club Passim, tonight through Sunday. At press time, half the shows were sold out but tickets were still available for tonight at 10 and Sunday at 5 and 8 p.m. Tickets: $30. 617-492-7679, www.clubpassim.org Lori McKenna jokes that she'd like to make a T-shirt that reads something like "Alison Krauss Recorded One of My Songs!" The Stoughton singer-songwriter and mother of five wrote "My Love Follows You Where You Go" with Nashville songwriter pals (and parents themselves)

Any song that evokes laughter, tears, and soul-searching can be considered a success. Lori McKenna has been successful for a long time, but her latest release, “Lorraine,’’ out today, is a real high-water mark for the Stoughton singer-songwriter, featuring 13 perfectly crafted gems of observational insight. The album takes its name from McKenna’s own, and that of her mother. Examining both her own life, the legacy of her mom — who died when McKenna was a child — and the vagaries of all types of relationships, McKenna comes to insightful conclusions and churns up even more questions.

There is nothing about suffering a severe heart attack that can be considered lucky, but drummer John Sands is fortunate in at least one respect: He has great, and extremely talented, friends. Aimee Mann, Ron Sexsmith, Lori McKenna, and Jess Tardy banded together Friday night at the Paradise to stage a benefit concert to help defray Sands’s sure-to-be-substantial medical expenses following his heart attack in November. Although Sands — who has played or toured with all of the artists on the bill — couldn’t be there physically, he was there in spirit and...