Maine based musicians Bess Jacques and Seth Warner will present Setting The Woods on Fire: Heartbreak + Honkytonk - an evening of traditional country, rhythm and blues and the best of the Americana tradition featuring solos and duets from the likes of Hank Williams, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, Lyle Lovett, Jimmie Rodgers, Willie Nelson and many more. With Bess singing from the piano and Seth with his guitar, they will be joined by an all star band and horn section featuring The Shrewsbury Horns at The Dance Hall, 7 Walker Street, Kittery Maine on Friday, November 18th @ 7:30pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 Day of show and are available at https://www.thedancehallkittery.org/
Pianist and singer Bess Jacques recreates the vintage decades of American music - think early jazz, swing, the American Songbook, rhythm and blues and soul - and combines these with fresh originals for a sound that is both vibrant and nostalgic.
In 2012 Bess abandoned a career in math and computer sciences to pursue music full time, returning to her home state of Maine in 2014. She and her musician/carpenter husband live in Westbrook, and work is underway to convert the old family hen house into a music studio. Bess performs regularly in the greater Portland, Maine area with various projects, including her combo, Bess Jacques & The Strays, and the jump blues / swing band The Zoot Jumpers.
Seth Warner's performances have been described as “ethereal” by the Portland Press Herald and has appeared on stages as diverse as The Boston Early Music Festival, WGBH radio, KD Rhein River cruises in Germany and at Joe’s Pub in New York City. Highlights from his performances include collaborations and tours with the Grammy award winning Parker String Quartet and the extraordinary gospel and blues singer, Francine Reed. Also enjoying a varied and successful career in arts administration, Seth was named as an Emerging Arts Leader by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters in 2008.
The band joining Bess and Seth will include Dan Beller-McKenna on pedal steel, bassist David Thibodeau, drummer Marty Joyce and the horn section of: Matt Kennedy, Casey Urich and Corey Urich