By Ann Driscoll
Associate Editor
Ten artists took the stage last Wednesday, April 8 at David Friend Recital Hall for Storytellers, a biannual showcase of singing and songwriting talent. “It was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to at Berklee. I would have paid for that,” said 5th semester performance major, Mario Guthrie. “Seeing Storytellers this year was truly like reading a great book. Every artist gave me a new perspective and took me on a new and different adventure with their music. I completely lost track of time,” said 6th semester MP&E major, Kailynn West.
The show began with Tubby Love’s dynamic reggae-rock song “One.” Tubby Love was energetic, dancing around on stage and tossing aside his neon-pink sunglasses. “One” possessed multiple rhythmic textures while anchored in a catchy vocal hook. Ali Rapetti performed her original, “A Few Points Worth Considering” as a tribute to her close personal friend, Tubby Love, as well as “Hey Mr.” a song she co-wrote and performed with Storytellers veteran Katerina Polemis. While both songs were charming, Tin Pan Alley-esque numbers, the latter featured gorgeous harmonies and Polemis’ ferocious, funny, and magnetic stage presence.
Ashley Root and Evelyn Brown performed as Merry-Go-Round, and their melodic Nashville pop was impressive to country and non-country fans alike. Kirby Dockery performed her alluring, eccentric R&B pop song, “Pulp,” a dark journey into a physically abusive relationship.
Eva Louhivuori sang a buoyant pop song in Finnish, “Kummusitelem” accompanied by Sophie Grobler and Soffie Viemose on background vocals. The metric changes mid-chorus combined with Louhivuori’s honey-sweet vocals made her performance a captivating, otherworldly treat. The Ex-Girlfriends, a folk-comedy act who performed last fall, performed “Morgan,” a tune about men with breasts that left the audience in stitches.
Elana Brody performed a haunting piano ballad, while Tony Dixon played his earnest existential folk song, “Tiny Little Terrors” with Rapetti on background vocals. Meanwhile, I closed the show with “I Wanna Be Your Zombie” an up-tempo pop-punk song. I splashed fake blood on my face and white blouse, and although I felt a bit silly given the stage dramatics, the warmth of the crowd made me feel excited to act like a zombie.
Associate Voice Professor Didi Stewart who has organized the show for over fourteen years, stated, “In all of my years of doing this, I have to say this is probably the best Storytellers that I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of.” While versed in a variety of styles, Stewart and co-organizer Alizon Lissance, associate Harmony professor, came of age during punk and new wave in the early 1980s, bringing a genuine affinity for alternative music and personalities to the proceedings. Lissance played keyboard for a variety of acts as well as piano. The house band consisted of Eric Kalver on drums, Claire Finley on bass, and Craig Hladley on guitar. Andrew Smith brought tasteful double bass lines to the more mellow songs.
“It was cool because it was really diverse on top of the quality of everyone’s performance. I think I may have enjoyed that the most,” said Jojo Schwartz, 6th semester performance major. “I was blown away.”
