Folksinger Mara Levine Celebrates New Release in New City, NY

On Sunday afternoon, April 28, the Borderline Folk Music Club presents a special concert celebrating the release of Mara Levine’s second CD Jewels and Harmony at the New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps, 200 Congers Road in New City, NY. The album topped the Folk DJ chart for the month of January and also featured the #1 song on folk radio, while Levine was the most-played artist for the month.

Admission for this special concert is $20 per person ($15 for Borderline & Pinewoods Folk Music Club of New York members). Guests also are asked to bring a cold pot-luck dessert to share with four other people. The venue is alcohol-free. For reservations (required), e-mail Sol Zeller at solz1@optonline.net or call him at (845) 354-4586. For more information, visit www.borderlinefolkmusicclub.org.

Called “one of the best singers of her generation” by Christine Lavin, New Jersey-based folksinger and jewelry designer Mara Levine has been creating beautiful interpretations of fine traditional and contemporary folk songs for many years. As her January 2013 release, Jewels and Harmony, reveals, Levine has an ear for both new songs and for classics that can be reshaped to sound fresh and new. Layering one harmony line on top of another, she creates rich tapestries of sound and emotion.

Levine has been delighting New York metro area concert-goers with a voice reminiscent of Judy Collins.  She also performs with a number of talented artists. Many who appear on the album will help recreate the songs in concert on April 28.

This all-star cast of musicians includes Alice Backer, Rusty Crowell and Jan Alba, Caroline Cutroneo, John Guth, Gary and Loretta Hagen, Bob Harris, Josh Joffen, Stuart Markus and Hillary Foxsong, Barbara Novick, Terry Rivel, Glen Roethel, Dan Schatz, and Jeff Scroggins. Besides supporting Levine, each artist will also perform a song of his/her own during the second set. Guests are encouraged to. sing along to some musical favorites and enjoy some lesser known gems of folk music. Copies of Levine’s CDs will be available, along with her jewelry. The emcees for this wonderful afternoon of music will be Bill Hahn and Ron Olesko, co-hosts of WFDU-FM’s long-running folk music program “Traditions."

Building on the success of Mara’s Gems, Levine’s 2009 debut, Jewels and Harmony features 15 hand-picked songs that reflect changes we experience and some of life’s journeys and passages. The change of seasons, with spring inevitably turning towards winter, mirrors both aging and the disintegration and loss of significant relationships.
Other songs touch on yearning for meaningful connections that will endure and on themes of hopefulness, rebirth, the support of friends and partners who stand by us, the joy of making music together, and the healing power of music to soothe and keep us connected.

"I was immediately impressed by her vocal talent, warm personality, and the tremendous rapport that she had with the audience,” said Sol Zeller, president of the Borderline Folk Music Club. “Whether doing a traditional folk song, one that was written by the legendary Si Kahn, or one of more recent vintage by Bob Franke, Pat Wictor or Eric Bogle, Mara gives the song her own unique interpretation much as an artist does when putting paint to canvas."

Jim Fisher, host of “Down Home Folk and Bluegrass” on WGCS-FM in Goshen, Indiana, writes: “Wow! I’m not sure where to start with the accolades for Jewels and Harmony… I’ve methodically played each cut and every song is brilliantly done.” Sharing similar sentiments, Bill Hahn, co-host of “Traditions” on WFDU-FM in Teaneck, New Jersey, writes: “Jewels and Harmony is one of those recordings where you want to listen to the entire work and then listen once again. Mara Levine’s voice jumps out at you with the clarity of a well-tuned chime or bell in the tradition of Judy Collins and Joan Baez. Her selection of songs for this project is truly well-chosen, and the delight of having the amazing guest artists with whom she has surrounded herself is a true
treat.”

You can find more information about Levine and hear some of her music at www.maralevine.com