Austin songsters team up for show

Austin, Texas, songwriters Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin are touring in support of their new albums on Red House Records, both of which have become fast favorites on folk and Americana radio. The duo will be performing Sunday April 1 at Oak Center General Store in Lake City.

Recognized for his sharp wit and poetic sensibility, Danny Schmidt has been called "a rare breed" by the Austin Chronicle — a musician's musician who is respected for his highly original writing and loved for his captivating performances.

Since the release of his Red House debut “Instead the Forest Rose to Sing,” he has emerged from the underground music scene to become one of America's most significant songwriters.

The album garnered rave reviews and charted for months on folk and Americana radio, making No Depression's "Best of 2009" list and becoming the second most played folk album that year.

Schmidt recently released the album “Man of Many Moons.”

Recorded by Keith Gary at Blue Rock Studio in Wimberley, Texas, the album features a few guest appearances by guitarist Will Sexton (Waylon Jennings, Roky Erikson), singer Raina Rose and fellow Red House artists Ray Bonneville and Carrie Elkin.

Adding only light accompaniment, they deftly let the spotlight shine on Schmidt, showing his virtuosity as a guitarist, singer and poet, critics note.

Schmidt's songs dance around the theme of personal evolution and a complicated relationship with commitment. The album begins and ends with songs of self-discovery, such as "Houses Sing" and "Know Thy Place,” and in between moves through the personally conscious to the socially conscious - from the devastatingly honest title track to the playfully political "Guilty By Association Blues."

A hit on folk and Americana radio as well as the breakout album for this young talent, Carrie Elkin's new album “Call It My Garden” is a mix of folk, Americana and string band sounds.

Up-tempo tracks like "Jesse Likes Birds" and "Guilty Hands" are reminiscent of a jubilant down-home hootenanny while tracks like "Lift Up the Anchor" and "Dear Sam" (written for Sam Baker and featuring him on harmony vocals) sound like whispered late-night confessions.

At a glance…

Songsters Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin will provide music.

When: 2 p.m. Sunday April 1

Where: Oak Center General Store, Highway 63, rural Lake City

Cost: $5-$15 based on ability to pay

More info: 507-753-2080 or www.oakcentergeneralstore.com

Tags: arts and entertainment, lifestyle, arts, entertainment