The Salmon Brook Music Series presents singer songwriter David Mallett on Saturday, March 14, at South Church, 242 Salmon Brook St. The cool breezes of Maine’s northlands have flowed through the songs of David Mallett for more than four decades. His latest, Greenin’ Up, is a compilation of some re-recordings of his finest work. Released in conjunction with the Maine Farmland Trust, it is a celebration of rural life.
Mallett includes three new songs—Fat of the Land, Dogs and Horses and Beautiful Rose—along with re-recordings of his better known tunes like the American classic Garden Song, Summer of My Dreams, I Knew This Place, Good Times and April.
Greenin’ Up is the culmination of a musical career that began when Mallett was 11 years old, playing in a country and folk duo, The Mallett Brothers, with his older brother, Neil. “We played everything from old songs like Carry Me Back To Old Virginny, which is the only song that my father ever sang,” recalled Mallett. “We had our own TV show in the 60s for a few seasons, made a few 45s and did a lot of nice shows. It was a great way to grow up in show business.”
A turning point in Mallett’s career came in 1975, after he discovered that Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary had moved to Blue Hill, Maine, and was opening a recording studio. Within six months of their initial meeting, Mallett found a true mentor in Stookey. In addition to producing Mallett’s first three albums, Stookey helped to bring his tune, The Garden Song, to the attention of influential folksinger Pete Seeger who included it on his 1979 album, Circles And Seasons. John Denver soon recorded the song and took it to the top ten in the adult contemporary charts in the late 70s.
Mallett has released 5 CDs on his own North Road label in the last 10 years, including Artist In Me (acclaimed by Associated Press as one of the year’s best records). Named one of the most memorable “Mainers” in the millennium edition of the Bangor Daily News (along with Marshall Dodge, Andrew Wyeth, E.B. White, Stephen King, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and others), Mallett’s songs are filled with passion, evocative imagery, and a sense of the inevitable passage of time. The struggle of the common man and the loss of American towns and landscapes are the subject of many of his songs.
Tickets are available for $25 online at salmonbrookmusicseries.com or by calling 860-916-5066. Tickets may also be available at the door for $28, but the venue is small and Mallett is very popular. Doors open at 7, show starts 7:30 p.m. Proceeds support the mission of South Church.