Patty Larkin plus Peter Mulvey

"Patty Larkin is one of the finest acoustic guitarists in the world. On Watch The Sky she focuses on her songwriting, singing and multi- instrumental talents. The final results are as stellar as her guitar playing" — Vintage Guitar

Patty Larkin is a remarkable guitar player, an insightful songwriter, a versatile singer and a hilarious performer all rolled into one. Born in Iowa and raised in Milwaukee, Patty studied at the Berklee School of Music and launched her career in Boston in the late '80s. Playing the subways and streets and in a succession of rock, jazz, and folk bands before striking out on her own.

Patty kicks off the Rogue's 21st birthday month on Sunday May 4th. I first met her at the Granville Island Hotel, where I had been invited to interview her. I hadn't heard her music before, so it was not easy to know where to start. I asked her who were her influences, and whose guitar work she admired. "Richard Thompson" was her immediate response. I like this girl, I thought! Patty is an extraordinary guitarist and a wonderfully imaginative songwriter. I'd love to see her share a stage with Richard Thompson some time! A few years ago she played a Rogue gig to mark the launch of her latest CD, Regrooving The Dream. The next morning I kept listening to that CD over and over, and then decided to zoom over to Pender Island to see her again that night! Since then she has released two more fine CDs, Red=Luck, and the brand new Watch The Sky.

After two decades of musical collaboration she has changed tack for her newest release. She wrote, played, produced, and engineered, and the result is an intimate, dreamy sound-scape of folk-pop gems. She experiments with a kaleidoscope of sounds, from her "slapsteel" guitar (lap steel detuned, played with drumstick & hand) to the "baribow," an organic take on a string section, played on electric baritone guitar with a violin bow. "Some of the songs were written the way I've always written: guitar in hand, notebook and pen. Others were written to tracks I had put down and looped or arranged, the melodies and lyrics written and sung as the music floated by. It was reinventing how I create. It was a thrilling, at times harrowing experience."

"Richly contemplative tracks about solitude and togetherness, open vistas and spiritual quests. Her voice can be breathy and confiding, tinged with the blues or infused with Joni Mitchell's pearly depth... Larkin is deeply attuned to the resonances of her many instruments....meditative chords ripple across acoustic and electric guitars in Cover Me and Traveling Alone, and float over a dance beat in Phone Message. Countless little slide and steel-guitar licks ricochet around conga drums and filtered choruses of her voice in Beautiful. " — New York Times

If you haven't seen this tall, wiry redhead before just drop everything and come down to see her. She plays and sings with unbridled soul and her songs are cinematic – ranging from the abstract to the succinct. If you have seen her before, you'll surely be there again! The opening act on the tour is another fine American singer / guitarist, Peter Mulvey. If he can hold his own alongside this consummate singing guitar diva then he must be really good! "Peter Mulvey is consistently the most original and dynamic of the US singer-songwriters to tour these shores... A phenomenal performer with huge energy, a quick fire, quirky take on life, and an extraordinary guitar style... a joy to see." — The Irish Times

Websites: www.pattylarkin.com, www.petermulvey.com