WEST MILFORD — Music at the Mission will be welcoming contemporary folk legend, Vance Gilbert to their stage for the Oct. 19 concert. Opening the evening’s performance will be West Milford native and Berklee School of Music graduate, Paige Califano, with her band: The Dwells.
“To have a true legend like Vance Gilbert grace our stage would make for a memorable evening in and of itself!” said Music at the Mission President Sara Gallmann. “But to be able to bring in Paige Califano - one of West Milford’s biggest success stories - with her band The Dwells to open for Vance will turn a memorable evening into a magical one.”
Gilbert burst onto the singer/songwriter scene in the early 90s when the buzz spread through the folk clubs of Boston about an ex-multicultural arts teacher who was knocking them dead at open mics. By 1992, Shawn Colvin caught wind of Gilbert’s act and he was invited to join her Fat City tour.
Of his album in 2000, “Somerville Live,” the Boston Globe wrote: “young songwriters should study [his work] the way law students cram for exams.” New York City’s Town and Village praised his 2002 follow-up, “One Thru Fourteen” calling it “lively, eclectic, electrifying, and transcending.”
As each new album was greeted with glowing reviews, artists such as Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker, and many more took notice and asked Gilbert to add his talents to their tours.
In 2005, Vance hit his stride with “Unfamiliar Moon” a recording the Boston Globe rated #4 among their top ten CDs of the year. “Angels, Castles, Covers” followed in 2006, gaining accolades from FAME contributor Roberta Schwartz, who said of this album of cover songs: “he makes every tune sound fresh.”
Then George Carlin called.
Vance spent the next 18 months touring with the late great comedian before releasing his ninth album, “Up On Rockfield” which Vintage Guitar magazine proclaimed “should be on your must hear list.”
The Dwells were born on the Fourth of July — Matthew Bean and West Milford’s Paige Califano were enjoying the night on a hot, crowded Boston rooftop, but soon found themselves one floor below with some old notebooks and a guitar. Their voices blended minutes into hours and as morning glazed the window, they both left hearing music come to life like they had never heard before. As they dove into new ideas, they slowly crafted their sound and what emerged was a neo-Americana, cosmic folk duo that gave a nod to earlier genre-benders like Gram Parsons and Eliot Smith.
The combination of their voices has been described as “haunting yet ultimately heartfelt and vulnerable,” and their songs won’t leave you alone. Their new album, “Don’t Ever Leave Me Like You Do,” was released on March 30. This is the second self-released and self-produced album from The Dwells. Their debut album, “Fortieth Floor,” was released last May. Boston guitar legend, Randy Roos, recorded, mixed and mastered their newest album at his home studio in Ashland, N.H. In addition, America’s foremost rock photographer, Henry Diltz (think The Doors Morrison Hotel, James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James and The Eagle’s Desperado to name a few) shot the cover.
“It will be a very special night of music,” said Gallmann, “Come on out and support The Mission, support live music, and support Paige’s homecoming!”
Music at the Mission performances are staged at the West Milford Presbyterian Church, 1452 Union Valley Road in West Milford. For ticket information, visit www.musicatthemission.org.