Open mic night in Ellicott City, MD creates a new group, and a band claims playing the most number of shows in 24 hours.

This is episode 46 of Caffe Lena: 60 Years of Song.  Thank you to Sarah for this list of songs and artists for the feature.

As these stories often go, E.R.I.E. was born out of tumult. In the midst of an unexpected, three day stint in the hospital in October of 2018, E.R.I.E. architect TJ Foster (Accents, Darling Valley) was asking a lot of cliché, existential questions. That kind of thing is to be expected when one’s heart stops for fifteen seconds on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night.

We fell for Belle-Skinner's hauntingly beautiful, lilting soprano voice and innate sense of melody a handful of years ago on WEXT.  

We enjoyed a recent - albeit socially-distanced - visit from Belle-Skinner when she came by to tape a segment for WMHT-TV's AHA! A House for Arts (Wednesday nights at 7:30pm).  Hear these sessions on the radio (and here online), and see them on WMHT-TV.

It has been a few years since we last chatted, and Francesca Blanchard has been quite busy. She even took some time away from music to re-evaluate her path.  Her latest album is a "break up record." Francesca tells us that she actually went through the break up during the writing and making of the record.  You can hear the raw emotion in the songs.  

The album is called "Make It Better." And check out the cool video below, too.

Jim Gaudet and WEXT go way back together. We've been loving every time we get to interact with Jim, even if it is just on our TV screen.  Local 518 artists are now appearing on WMHT TV's AHA (A House for Arts).  Hear these sessions on the radio (and here online), and see them on WMHT-TV.

Jim played a few cool tunes for us in this session, "Hold On (A Father's Lament)," "Going Up to Saratoga," and "Handle the Truth."

Lace up your running shoes and join the fight against childhood Alzheimer's by registering today for JP's 5k Fun Run.   

Driving their tour van until it drops, a married musician couple keeps it going, and another musical couple – kindred spirits – met at a bluegrass festival.

This is episode 45 of Caffe Lena: 60 Years of Song. Thank you to Sarah for the list of songs and artists for the feature.

A Canadian singer-songwriter moves to China and a band from upstate New York with an unusual name.

This is episode 44 of Caffe Lena: 60 Years of Song.  Thank you to Sarah at the Caffe for selecting the artists and songs for the feature.

If Kris Angelis looks familiar, it could be because you've seen her - or her twin sister - acting on TV or in the movies.  Kris grew up making the world her stage.  She's creating some very memorable moments on social media with her regular live streams, and in the interview tells me of her nerd fascination with board games, and a few other cool things.