Sunday, June 3rd, 7 p.m., Tarrytown Music Hall
Featuring the premiere performance of “Midnight Garden”, a song cycle written by multi-Grammy Award nominee Brad Roberts and acclaimed composer Rob Morsberger, with string accompaniment. This special concert is a benefit for Rob and his family to help offset medical expenses due to a severe illness. Tribes Hill artists will open the show with a few songs, followed by Rob and his band performing new material from his recent release, “Ghosts Before Breakfast”. During the day Tribes Hill will present regional artists performing for the 25th Annual Tarrytown Street Fair under the Music Hall marquee.
Brad Roberts is the lead singer, guitarist, writer and front man of the celebrated alternative rock band Crash Test Dummies. Known for his distinct bass-baritone voice, he has sold millions of records, is a multi-grammy award nominee and a songwriter extraordinaire. He is revered not only for such commercial hits as “Superman’s Song” and “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” but also for his dedication to artistic non-commercial endeavors. Originally from Winnepeg, Brad now lives in New York City with his family, where he continues to write and record. He has a longstanding musical relationship with Rob Morsberger. In the Sunday Times of London, Brad includes Rob’s ‘Chronicle of a Literal Man’ on his playlist, calling it “smart and funny, as well as harmonically rich.” Rob contributed string arrangements, key board and accordion to Crash Test Dummies’ 2010 release “Oooh La La!” and toured briefly with Brad and the band.
A prolific singer/songwriter/side-man/composer, Rob Morsberger’s work is widely heard and praised. USA TODAY says Rob’s music is “sumptuous” and a “mix of wit and grit”. Editor’s Pick in The Boston Globe reads: “think “storyteller” with a literary, cinematic, intellectual bent.” THE NEW YORK TIMES says Rob is “songwriting from the best parts of the literate side, where lyrics and topics are meaningful to him, and from a serious study of composition”. Rob’s recent session work includes Patti Smith, Loudon Wainright III, the Boardwalk Empire Grammy Award-winning soundtrack and Nova. The son of Philip Morsberger, a distinguished American artist, Rob grew up in Oxford, England and studied composition at the University of Edinburgh. He lives with his family in the lower Hudson Valley. An acclaimed resident of note, Westchester County recently proclaimed March 4th as “Robert Morsberger Day”!
Last September Rob was diagnosed with a grade 4 gioblastoma tumor, a malignant brain cancer. Despite the seriousness of this formidable disease, Rob has remained remarkably upbeat, focusing on his family and his music. Adding to his impressive catalogue, Rob has since released “Ghosts Before Breakfast” in February, has done session work and composed a number of string arrangements for such notables as Patti Smith, completed his sixth album titled “A Part of You”, (to be released in September) and is currently finishing the recording of an amazing song cycle collaboration with Crash Test Dummies’ Brad Roberts, CD release date TBD.
Midnight Garden is a song cycle, with lyrics by Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies, and music by Rob Morsberger, scored for piano and string quartet, with the two artists making a vocal duet. It is described by Rob as “a postmodern take on the 19th century song cycle form, with some nostalgic nods to Stephen Foster along the way.”
Tribes Hill is a grassroots nonprofit organization uniting musicians of the lower Hudson Valley region and patrons in support of a music community that aspires to common goals and beliefs. We host monthly musical gatherings at members’ homes, support regional music and promote the advancement of both a progressive and traditional folk genre.
Tickets are priced at $20., $25., $35., $45., $65. and are available for purchase at http://tickets.tarrytownmusichall.org
