Marshall Crenshaw
Join us Sunday, March 13 at 7:30 pm for a concert featuring Marshall Crenshaw and Harris Amster, of Burt the Dirt.
Grammy-nominated Marshall Crenshaw is a quintessential rock craftsman whose songwriting flashes subtle genius while producing classic pop songs of urban American life. His latest CD release, “The EP Collection,” is a 14-track set that collects a dozen standout tracks drawn from the innovative series of six 10-inch vinyl EPs released between 2013 and 2015, plus a pair of never-before-heard rarities.
Crenshaw first came to prominence by portraying John Lennon in the road-show version of Beatlemania. His songs have been featured on several film soundtracks and covered by such diverse artists as Robert Gordon, Bette Midler, Kelly Willis, Marti Jones, Ronnie Spector, and the Gin Blossoms, with whom Crenshaw co-wrote the Top 10 single “Til I Hear It From You.” He’s also provided music for several film soundtracks, appeared in the films “La Bamba” (in which he portrayed Buddy Holly) and “Peggy Sue Got Married,” and was nominated for Grammy and a Golden Globe awards for writing the title track for the film comedy “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”
Harris Amster
Harris Amster, hailing from the suburbs of Washington, D.C., performs music rooted in classic Americana and blues-based rock ‘n’ roll. Stylistically, his songs recall the country-folk mythos of The Flying Burrito Brothers and the Bob Dylan of the Basement Tapes era. He also performs with his band, Burt the Dirt. His striking originals fit comfortably beside covers of Neil Young and Gram Parsons.
Harris had his bar mitzvah in 1999 at TI. While his parents have been synagogue members for more than 25 years, Focus is solely responsible for selecting and contracting the performing artists. Harris’ parents were not involved in his selection to open the show.
The FOCUS event will be staged in the Flax Library; light refreshments will be available for purchase during intermission. Advance tickets are available through FOCUS’s website. FOCUS member pricing for tickets purchased at the door will be extended to Tikvat Israel members.
FOCUS is a non-profit organization whose mission “is to bring folk and acoustic music to a growing audience through performance, education and participation in the musical folk art.” Tikvat Israel and FOCUS have agreed to a partnership to bring folk music concerts to Tikvat Israel and the Montgomery County community.
