I was immediately impressed with her performance skills, her songwriting,

Jazz performer and singer/songwriter Cassi Gray

and her voice.  I’ve seen her at the MSA event a couple of times since that night.  Most recently, in July, she performed in one of the 30-minute sets that are the main attraction at the MSA Showcase nights on Thursday evenings at the North Star.

Cassi is making her name in the local music scene as a jazz singer and performer, and appears with a jazz trio that she fronts.  Her songwriting is more ecclectic; while constructed primarily of  jazz harmonies and styles, it is tinged with a folk flavor.  

Cassi is a recent graduate of the USM Music Program, with a double degree in jazz performance an music education.  Her voice is beautiful; clear, pitch-perfect, supple, and emotive.  It cuts through the mix and asserts itself as the main character in her performances.

The young Ms. Gray is doing a great job of promoting herself locally.  She is active in The Maine Songwriters Association, and has been networking at recent Portland Music Association events, meeting people and learning about what they do in town.  She was featured in Portland Magazine this past winter, and continues to gig in the area with both solo performances, and appearances with her jazz trio.

You can hear her very nice vocals and her original music on her MySpace page, and you can learn more about her, and find out about her gigs, at her website http://www.cassigray.com

If you get a chance to catch her performance, I highly recommend that you don’t let that chance slip by!

Take the 5:35 PM Casco Bay Lines ferry to Peaks Island ($8.20 round trip!)

Have dinner at the Cockeyed Gull restaurant or at The Inn at Peaks Island.

Walk (yes walk! It’s NOT going to rain!) to the Fifth Maine Regimental Museum on Seashore Avenue, and get there by 7:30 PM for Phil Daligan’s “Songwriters by the Sea” music series.

You will get the chance to see and hear Gathering Time, a traditional folk trio from Long Island that has perfected two separate but related art forms: three part harmony and having a ball on stage!

(As an added bonus, Gathering Time is sharing the stage tonight on Peaks with Teresa Storch, a wonderful Boston-area singer/songwriter who writes great tunes, in a variety of styles, and has killer performance skills!)

I caught Gathering Time’s set last night at The North Star Music Cafe in Portland, and that’s why I’m recommending that you make the 20-minute voyage across Casco Bay tonight.  These folks put on a wonderful show, with a bunch of original folky tunes, some great covers, and lots of fun banter on stage.

Gathering Time: (l to r) Glen Roethel, Hillary Foxsong, Stuart Markus

Gathering Time is Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus, and Hilary Foxsong.  Glen plays a beautiful Gibson guitar, plus electric bass.  Stuart is an excellent guitarist and bassist as well, and Hilary is a skilled percussionist.  They all sing with great enthusiasm, passion, and precision.  When they harmonize, some sort of fundamental, cosmic concordance occurs that makes you very happy that you have ears.

They did some covers by America, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Beatles, and led the crowd in a cozy and heartening communal sing on the Chet Powers 60’s classic “Get Together”.

Their own tunes are gentle, peaceful, hopeful; true, traditional folk music.  There is a place for darkness in music, but this type of  upbeat optimism never fails to inspire me.  Anyone who allows stereotypes about folk music to shut themselves off from this stuff is missing something special.

Opening for Gathering Time was Annie Wenz, a world-traveling, folk and world music artist and  biker chic: a very nice person and extremely talented performer.  She opened with a heart-stopping interlude on a

Annie Wenz

native wooden flute with dual tones – very spooky and affecting.  Her set was a mix of funny and clever story songs, political gems, and meaningful folk ballads.  She is a strong woman with a strong voice, and a very talented songwriter.  

Her stories and songs made it clear that she has a wealth of vibrant world experience from which to draw (you need to hear her bungie-jumping song!)  She told me that she would be staying in Maine for the summer (although her gig schedule doesn’t show it!), so hopefully, we’ll get another chance to hear her.

Get over to Peaks Island tonight and see Gathering Time and Teresa Storch!