Johnson Girls ready to sail into the uNi CoffeehouseDate: 12/29/2008 SPRINGFIELD The uNi Coffeehouse Concert Series sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Society of Greater Springfield will present on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m., the Johnson Girls, the rousing four woman sea music group.
The Johnson Girls is the four woman vocal group that can raise the rafters with the best of them in the traditionally male musical domain of sea chanteys. Pete Seeger said, "I didn't know women could sing like that!"
Formed in 1997, their singing home port is the South Street Seaport in New York City. But, as the leading all-woman maritime song group in the world, they have headlined at major sea music festivals in the U.S. from Mystic, Conn., to San Francisco, Calif., as well as Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Their extensive repertoire of both traditional and contemporary material includes sea chanteys and work songs of many traditions: African-American, Canadian, Caribbean, Irish, French and Italian as well as songs from the inland waterways and fisheries, sensitive renderings of haunting ballads and laments and hair-raising harmonies.
The Johnson Girls two Folk Legacy CDs, "The Johnson Girls" and "On the Rocks," both have received rave reviews in the leading U.S. and U.K. publications that cover folk music.
Comfortable whether singing for a coffeehouse audience or a great throng at festivals, their sound and energy is visceral and infectious. The Johnson Girls dazzle audiences wherever they perform.
Perhaps one secret to their success is the diverse musical backgrounds and extensive experience of all four women Joy Bennett, Alison Kelley, Bonnie Milner and Deirdre Murtha.
The concert will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Society Meetinghouse, 245 Porter Lake Drive. For more information or reservations, call 562-3990 or go to www.uNiCoffeehouse.org. Tickets are $15 at the door.
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