The Pinkerton Raid

ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC featuring THE PINKERTON RAID on the deck at the Irving Theater Monday June 17 (and every Monday night) 7:00p to 10:00p FREE | All Ages [LOCAL MUSICIANS] [ORIGINAL MUSIC] [PLAY OR LISTEN] Acoustic Open Mic is an open stage featuring local and regional artists held every Monday during the Summer on the deck at the Irving Theater and inside the Irving Theater all Winter long or as weather may not permit us to be outside. The format is original acoustic music. Performers are allowed about 10 minute or 3-4 songs to perform depending on the number of musicians wishing to perform. There is no fee. Come enjoy original music from local and regional musicians. On occasion we feature traveling musicians. This week we feature North Carolina-based Folk band The Pinkerton Raid with a set at about 8:00p. ABOUT THE PINKERTON RAID You could say that The Pinkerton Raid was born out of Christmas music. Some of singer-guitarist Jesse James DeConto’s earliest memories are of singing carols in church as an elementary-school kid. “Those melodies stick with me,” he says. “‘Silent Night,’ ‘O Holy Night,’ ‘Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.’” It seemed only fitting that with five full-length albums of his own songs under his belt and eight years of leading annual holiday sing-alongs, Jesse would at some point make a Christmas album. But after three decades of spiritual evolution, how could he celebrate a season that had once guided his journey without getting tripped up by all the metaphysical ballast that now feels more like an anchor than a rudder? “I wanted to record winter songs that feel essentially human, that capture the loss and longing, regret and despair, the fallen leaves and cut trees, the death of the past that somehow carries hope and possibility for the future, the most basic joy of being together.” Drummer Andy Reed joined The Pinkerton Raid when they were preparing for their 2022 Songs for Humans holiday sing-along, and the collaborative recording process flowed from there, with DeConto returning to his roots as a bass player to lay down the rhythm tracks with Reed. They enlisted producer James Phillips, whose band Bombadil has earned a loyal following among fans of quirky modern folk. Trumpeter Cameron Collier joined as DeConto and Phillips were plotting the overdubs that would give the album its lush sound. Collier’s brass and DeConto’s guitars alternate and interweave melodies throughout the songs, and keyboards from Phillips and from Victoria Victoria’s Noah Elliott accent the dynamic push and pull. Former bass player Derek Skeen and occasional collaborators Sarah Shearin, Alex Mitchell and Suzanne DeConto formed a small choir in Phillips’ studio to add the whisper of winter. The result is a tribute to the most natural, most elemental features of the season: the cold, the ice, the snow, the quiet, the fireside warmth, the layers of clothing, the seasonal depression, the futurist hope.