Courtesy of Phil Henry
PHIL HENRY
Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. — WEST RUTLAND — Two duos of acclaimed Vermont singer-songwriters will join forces for one evening of original music at the West Rutland Town Hall on Saturday, Jan. 30. Rutland’s Phil Henry and Gary Moon will split the performance with Ripton’s Richard Ruane and Beth Duquette. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and a suggested donation of $10 will be accepted. Students are encouraged to attend for free.
“Vermont has a rich community of original folk music, and we’re pleased to showcase our piece of it,” says songwriter Phil Henry.
Henry is no stranger to this community. He teaches general music, chorus, and Rock Lab at West Rutland School, a K-12 school a block away from the Town Hall. Outside of school, he maintains a full schedule as a performer, sharing his original, award-winning compositions. In January 2015, Henry released his fourth full-length album, “Aberdeen.” The CD has garnered critical acclaim, including a recent Tammie Award for Best Singer-Songwriter Album, which is recognition from the Times Argus and Rutland Herald for best Vermont-made music of the year. He has won songwriting competitions at SolarFest and Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival, and been showcased at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. Along with hand percussionist and singer Gary Moon, Henry plays upbeat acoustic narrative folk with tight harmonies and grooves.
Phil Henry and Gary Moon are thrilled to share the evening with the duo of Richard Ruane and Beth Duquette. Ruane and Duquette perform original music with a strong foundation in the traditional music of America and the British Isles. They are known for their “finely written songs, with wonderful vocal performances, and solid instrumental backing” (Oliver di Place, Musings on Music). With their vocal blend, which has drawn comparisons to sibling harmony groups, they swap off on lead, harmony and full duets based on the needs of the songs. Ruane provides the instrumental backbone, playing guitar, mandolin, ukulele and banjo. Ruane’s songwriting has won awards from the Songwriter’s Association of Washington’s Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and the SolarFest Songwriting Showcase and he has been a finalist at Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition in Kerrville, Texas, the Great Waters Music Festival Songwriter Contest and the Plowshares Coffeehouse Singer-Songwriter Competition.
More information about the event can be found at www.philhenryband.com.
West Rutland Town Hall is located at 35 Marble Street, West Rutland. The venue is handicap accessible with an elevator to the auditorium.
