STANSTEAD/DERBY LINE: The musical duo of Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson, known as Hungrytown, will be performing a benefit concert for the Haskell Free Library on Saturday, July 6 (2p.m.), in the Library’s International Reading Room. This particular performance has aligned itself with Stanstead’s annual Border Fest – Frontières en Fête 2013 celebration.

This musical and married duo have released two highly acclaimed CDs, Hungrytown (2008) and Any Forgotten Thing (2011), both of which continue to receive much airplay on folk and Americana stations worldwide. Rebecca and Ken now tour full time throughout the US, Canada and Europe, and have enjoyed making their first forays into New Zealand. The traditional roots-inspired folk music of many of their original songs has been performed by many other artists, including Nashville songwriting legend David Olney and bluegrass veterans the Virginia Ramblers. Hungrytown’s music has also appeared on several television shows, including the Independent Film Channel’s hit series, Portlandia.

Before Hungrytown, Rebecca made two well-received CDs under her own name (with help from Ken behind the scenes), Rebecca Hall Sings! (2000) and Sunday Afternoon (2002). Rebecca learned to sing in church as a child, and had developed into a skilled interpreter of jazz and blues standards by the time she was in her 20s. Her discovery of roots music inspired her to write her own material. She soon developed a reputation for crafting classic, instantly memorable songs, weaving modern themes into traditional song structures. “Rebecca Hall is a true rarity: a new folk classicist.” - wrote Daniel Gewertz of the Boston Herald. Ken is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist as well as a talented producer and arranger. He learned to play drums and keyboards as a child, and has since moved on to bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo and harmonica. He also has a remarkable gift for musical harmony, and is responsible for Hungrytown’s intricate vocal stylings. Having produced all of their recorded works, his artistry has been singled out for praise: “Anderson has a knack for crafting rich arrangements that don’t clutter things up,” writes Casey Rea of Seven Days (VT) magazine. When not touring with Rebecca, Ken is often hiding out in their home studio, Song Catcher Recording, working with other songwriters and instrumentalists.

For more info on this versatile group: http://hungrytown.net