Don't miss The Kennedys
WEST MILFORD — The Kennedys return to Music at the Mission on Saturday, May 14, for a concert in the evening and guitar workshops earlier in the day at CoyoteRidge Music.
Maura and Pete Kennedy are both East Coast natives, met in Austin, Texas, joined forces with Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra for a couple of years, and set out on a road that, for more than two decades, has led them not only west but all over the United States and the United Kingdom many times. They celebrated their 20th anniversary both as a band and a married couple. Rather than indulge in a nostalgic look backward, they’ve taken Bob Dylan’s dictum “don’t look back” to heart; writing and recording 40 new songs.
In 2015, Maura and Pete each released solo CDs as well as "West," an instant classic Kennedys duo set that seamlessly weaves their influences over the last two decades: Buddy Holly style roots, the tuneful cadences of the Everly Brothers, and the ringing 12-string jangle of the early Byrds, interspersed with darker moments that recall British folk rock a la Fairport Convention.
Ultimately, Pete and Maura knit these disparate threads into a coat of many colors that sounds like a “best of The Kennedys,” but is in reality an all-new collection of songs. The road west is central to the American mythos; it’s the search for musical roots and the fulfillment of a personal American dream that takes shape in songs. Two decades on, The Kennedys are hitting a songwriting high point, and from that point they follow the well-worn American path West.
In this intermediate level class, Maura shows how the Kennedys achieve a full-band sound with just acoustic guitars. She will demonstrate and teach tips for using muting and dynamics to add fullness to arrangements, and disclose some secret "Kennedy chord" voicings that will give standard tuning the depth and power of open tunings. Knowledge of basic open chords is a must.
The cost is $40.
Pete Kennedy's workshop is set for 2 to 4 p.m. at CoyoteRidge Music. His focus is "Six Things That Will Improve Your Playing Right Away."
In this intermediate and advanced class, Pete will teach the basic warmup that he has done for decades, will help map out the notes on the fretboard, will show how a basic major scale is the key to modal soloing, will teach a variety of harmonic techniques that will add an extra octave to your range, will give a basic lesson in hybrid right hand picking, and will give an overview, with some jamming, of the left and right hand techniques used in funk and reggae styles.
The cost is also $40.
Pre-order either or both workshops by sending a check to Music at the Mission, PO Box 349, West Milford, NJ 07480; call 862-377-8705 or email bern@CoyoteRidgeMusic.com. Location for the workshops will be given then.
The concert will be held at Music at the Mission, located at the West Milford Presbyterian Church, 1452 Union Valley Road, West Milford. Show begins at 8 p.m.