Pathways Arts resumes the Music Series post–school vacation with an evening of solo acts featuring local musicians and singer-songwriters, with guest musicians accompanying for a few songs on Friday, March 8, from 7 to 9 pm.
Songwriter Maryse Smith winds her lyrics around themes of interpersonal relationships, with a sprinkle of literate twist. Wise and weary, yet shimmering and sweet, Smith’s voice masters a delicate balance. Smith lived in Burlington, Vt., for years, where she made a name for herself as a vocalist before relocating to Martha’s Vineyard, journeying into motherhood and new insights on life and love. Smith is accompanied by Stu Rodegast for a portion of her set.
Multidimensional artist Lexie Roth, recently celebrated for a leading role in the musical “Billy Baloo” at the M.V. Playhouse, and well-known for her years of performing on- and off-Island, appears solo and with guest musicians for a unique set. Her original songwriting embraces personal loss and empathetic storytelling, delivered in her “characteristically brazen vocal range, oscillating between lullaby-like melodies and piercing high notes,” according to a press release from Pathways. Roth’s style embodies an inherited mantle of American music traditions, influenced by her accomplished musician father and collaborations with Willy Mason and others. Jessie Pinnick will perform a duet with Roth.
Shawn (“Bones”) Barber performs new (and some revised) songs solo for the first time since his 2018 appearance on the Pathways stage. After 10 years as band leader of the Island band Good Night Louise, in 2019 Barber began dabbling with Slim Bob Berosh, Brad Tucker, and a few other musician friends toward forming a new band, but was abruptly interrupted by the pandemic. The slowdown brought unexpected benefits, the release says. A self-taught singer and songwriter, Barber, for the next few years, has worked on his vocal range and ability to be a compelling narrator in his songwriting. A self-described “songwriters’ songwriter guy, who’s in for the sake of the song instead of the singing,” he attributes this new momentum to a lot of physical exercise, which has helped with his breath work; his focus on his daily writing; and being a father to a young son, now 5 years old. For him, the press release says, each song is “a cathartic act, a massage for the soul.”