Dan & Faith

Hello!

It’s finally garden season! After we returned from our midwest travels, it was time to get the garden prepped and planted. Tomatoes (2 varieties, cherry and large), kale, sweet and hot peppers, pickling cucumbers, broccoli, zucchini, celery, potatoes, parsley, basil and rosemary are now all settled into their places in the garden and pots. Mother Nature did her part by sending us 3+ inches of rain to water everything in! Lots of weeding ahead of us this summer, but everything is in place. We also have a lot of fruit set on our peach trees, and quite a bit on our pears. A happy thing, especially since we weren’t 100% sure the peaches would blossom this year (they were quite late). We’re guessing there was a lot of rain after the apple trees blossomed, as there isn’t a lot of fruit set on the newer apple trees, but they’re all at least looking healthy.

It’s also farmers market season! We kick off our market season on Friday, June 13th at the Hartland Farmers Market in Hartland, VT. This little market has a bit of everything: produce from local farms, artisans, food vendors, and music to shop by. The first time we played this market, we met some folks who have become our dear friends. You may not find new best friends at the market, but you can find some cool stuff and hear us! Music and market both run 4-6:30pm.

Since 2010, co-founders Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards have organized an annual non-profit walking concert tour of Massachusetts towns and trails in support of arts and culture throughout the state, known as the Massachusetts Walking Tour. Every day, they hike along the planned path, carrying full packs with camping gear and musical instruments. Each evening, they and their walking companions give a free concert for the people in the towns they pass through, with invited local musicians and poets opening for the walkers. Since 2015, we have joined them as an opener one night of their walk, and have done day hikes with them a few times as well. This year the walk is along the Mystic Link Trail through the towns of Reading, Winchester, and Tewksbury. We will be opening for them on Friday, June 27th, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reading, MA. The show starts at 6pm. You can find their full schedule of hikes and concerts here, and you’re welcome to hike with them as well as attend the concerts.

The South Acworth Village Store’s Annual Music Fest and BBQ on Saturday, June 29th is a fundraiser for the South Acworth Village Store in South Acworth, NH, a wonderful little community general store. This is always a great day of music, BBQ, and craft vendors on the banks of the Cold River in back of the store. The music runs from 11am to 7:30pm. We’re kicking off the festival at 11am, so be sure to get there early, bring sunscreen, bug spray, and a picnic blanket or lawn chair. Other acts include Meadowlark, Lonny’s Heroes, Babaray, Hypnic Jerks, Blue Collar Band, Cosmic Triumph, and Pointless Culture. The festival is family and pet friendly! The festival is rain or shine unless the weather turns particularly nasty. Check the Facebook event linked above in case of foul weather.

Reviews for songs from our Who We Are album continue to come in! This month we have several reviews of Dan’s song Se Llama Juanita, cowritten by Joe Jencks. Planet Singer, a London-based magazine that includes articles on vocal health, reviews of new music, and singer’s gear and tools, had this to say about us and the song: “Drawing from their deep well of empathy and artistic integrity, the New Hampshire-based pair tackle the timely and complex topic of immigration through a song that’s as emotionally moving as it is socially relevant.”  The complete review is here.

WatchElevate.tv is an online news source for entertainment, tech, culture, business, fashion, food, lifestyle, science, travel, sports and more. They describe Se Llama Juanita as, “… letting the human story speak for itself rather than forcing conclusions on listeners.” About us, they note, “The thing that stands out about Dan & Faith is their authenticity. They’re not trying to be the loudest voices in the room or the most provocative. Instead, they’re offering something that feels genuine in a music industry often criticized for manufactured emotion.”  Check out the rest of the review!

The Bandcamp Diaries, a spotlight on independent music, said, “‘Se Llama Juanita’ is a clear example of strong modern folk craft. The energy is real, and the vocals feel close, like a friend sharing a story across a campfire.” See what else they said!

The Daily Music Roll, an online music magazine specializing in publishing music blogs, artist interviews, music news, and music reviews on various genres of music, describes our album Who We Are as “a breath of fresh air, blending the authentic spirit of folk music with modern sounds.” Regarding Se Llama Juanita, they state, “The music carefully invites people to understand the hopes and hardships of immigrants seeking safety and a new life.”  The rest of the review is here.

And Just Fame is a virtual space for artists, musicians, writers, creatives, meditation and yoga practitioners, for insights into inspiring transformational ideas. They advertise themselves as one of the most read Indie Music and Entertainment Online news magazines in North America and Southeast Asia. Their columnist JJ Hermi says of Se Llama Juanita, “The story we encounter is no longer just about one woman, but rather symbolic of an entire community—people who have faced injustice or been denied their basic human right to live with dignity and choice.” They continue, “[W]e are left with a lingering sense of urgency—a call to action to help those around us, to feel empathy, and to replace judgment with deeper understanding.”  And here’s the rest!

For our Patreon patrons, we’ve posted the video of us performing Dan’s song, Railroad Town, along with a writeup about the town in the song, Bellows Falls, VT.  And we’re working on some additional new songs that we’ll be getting posted over there over the coming months.  If you’re not already a patron, we’d love to have you there!

Our albums Who We Are, Then and Now, Seeking, and Simple Grace are available from us at shows and on our website, through Bandcamp, or you can find them at iTunes and most other online music stores. Our music is also available streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

As always, you can find additional schedule information on our website. For additional content, follow us on Patreon. For more frequent news updates and information, check out our Facebook fan page.

Support live local music wherever you find it! Both the musicians and the venues will greatly appreciate it.

Dan & Faith

Hello!

Springtime brings new life and new beginnings! We have been anxiously watching our fruit trees as they began budding out this year. It certainly feels like the blossoms are coming late. Most of our trees are fairly young, and it’s always a treat to see which are simply leafing out and which are producing blossoms. Faith was pretty much convinced that the peach trees were not going to blossom this year, but Dan saw the changes in the buds more clearly. As we walked the orchard on Friday afternoon, we saw the very first peach blossoms opening, and Saturday morning even more greeted the day! We were hoping we would get to see them before we hit the road, and they obliged at the last second. Many of the apple trees are coated with flower buds, and even the Asian pear trees have some buds this year! The farmer who hays our fields delivered us a truckload of (somewhat) composted cow manure which we spread around each tree to fertilize it (a rather, um, aromatic job!). The remainder of the compost got tilled into the garden patch. Once we’re back from our travels this month, it will be time to get the garden started. But first, some shows!

We’re delighted to be back at the Leo Coffeehouse in Norwood, OH on Sunday, May 11th! We have played this music series, hosted by the Queen City Balladeers, several times before. Each time we find a community of music lovers! We’re hosting the Songwriters Collaborative before the concert, starting at 5:15pm. This is open to any songwriters! Come and share a song with other songwriters for encouragement and friendly critiques. The show itself starts at 6:40pm with Queen City Balladeers who have been at the Songfarmers Annual Gathering earlier in the weekend, followed by us, and the Oxford Folk Jazz quintet will close out the evening. The show is free.

Speaking of going back to familiar places, we’ll be the open mic feature at the Parish Center for the Arts open mic in Westford, MA on Sunday, May 25th. We have long considered this open mic to be our musical home. Dan ran sound there for many years while we lived in Massachusetts. Our host John Ferullo runs an incredibly welcoming open mic, and it will be a treat to spend the evening listening to friends old and new, and sharing songs with everyone. Doors open at 6pm, music starts around 6:30, we’ll likely go on somewhere around 8pm. Do come to listen to everyone! We love open mics because you never know when you’re going to hear something amazing there. John asks for a $5 donation for the PCA, and additionally passes a hat for the feature.

In between these two shows, we’ll be at the Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) conference in Owensboro, KY from Thursday, May 15th through Sunday, May 18th. We’re hosting a song circle on Saturday afternoon, are playing in several late night private showcases throughout the weekend, and are hosting a private showcase room on Saturday night as well (filling in for a friend who could not attend). If you’ll be there, give us a shout! We’d love to touch base while we’re there.

We have several more reviews of our song, My Name Is George! From the College Radio Charts: “In a musical landscape where loud statements often drown out the quiet truths, Dan and Faith’s ‘My Name Is George’ from their 2024 album Who We Are is a masterclass in gentle defiance and profound humanity.” It’s not every day a song review makes us cry — in a good way! — but these folks see the whole story we’re telling, and the emotions behind it. You can read the full review here.

LA Weekly is a 47 year old weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles that was inspired by the Boston Phoenix and the Austin Sun. Jon Stojan from LA Weekly wrote, “Trans youth are facing an uphill battle. Every day, changing legislation puts their futures at risk. Amid a world of chaos, one song is breaking through, offering hope, acceptance, and encouragement to guide the way.” Here is his complete review.

Our albums Who We Are, Then and Now, Seeking, and Simple Grace are available from us at shows and on our website, through Bandcamp, or you can find them at iTunes and most other online music stores. Our music is also available streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

As always, you can find additional schedule information on our website. For additional content, follow us on Patreon. For more frequent news updates and information, check out our Facebook fan page.

To quote the review above from the College Radio Charts: “… folk music is still, at its best, the music of the people: raw, real, and rooted in the hope that understanding can follow storytelling.” Support your local folk musicians and the venues that host them!

Dan & Faith