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SONYA TOMLINSON

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Music Seen: Brother Ali

Brother Ali, live at Asylum, November 10, 2009
Even if you've seen Brother Ali before, you have not seen the show that he played last week.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | November 18, 2009

Music Seen: El-P

At the Asylum, October 8
Nearly two weeks ago hip-hop legend El-P visited Maine for the first time.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | October 21, 2009

Music Seen: Roots and Tendrils

Worth the drive
Belfast as a destination just got more desirable with the addition of Roots and Tendrils. Nestled downtown, the light from the plate-glass windows and lush landscaped front lawn complete with brilliant colored chairs and lawn sculptures invite anyone heading down to the stone's-throw-away waterfront to peer inside.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | September 02, 2009

Music Seen: [dog] and [pony]

Coming to a computer near you, anytime
Let's face it — it's hot, we're poor, and we're lucky to be stealing our neighbor's wireless. When you can't muster the energy to go out in these dog days of summer you can go to the best attended venue not only in Portland, but worldwide: the Internet.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | August 26, 2009

Swinging blues

Samuel James's stories from the road
On the eve of Samuel James's second CD release on Northern Blues Music, For Rosa, Maeve and Noreen , we needed to catch up on all of his happenings since the release of 2008's Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy .

By SONYA TOMLINSON | August 19, 2009

Music Seen: Assemble

Music Seen
This month's Evolve2Advance bash, "Assemble," the latest in a series celebrating the convergence of visual art, music, food, and community, was one of those events whose status update should have read, "Come to SPACE right now for this very cool and under-attended event."

By SONYA TOMLINSON | July 29, 2009

Anthony's Idol at Anthony's Italian Kitchen

Music Seen
Why settle for nationwide talent on the boob tube when you could see area singers competing in the flesh?

By SONYA TOMLINSON | May 27, 2009

From the mouths of innocents

Modern poverty
It has become an unwelcome reality, living from paycheck to paycheck and worrying about job stability, but what about being born a guiltless young person growing up with a drug-addicted parent, no job skills, and no home?

By SONYA TOMLINSON | May 13, 2009

Music Seen: All over

All over, April 27 to May 2
Last week we spent five of six nights out on the town. If anyone ever complains that we don't have enough venues or shows to attend we beg to differ.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | May 06, 2009

Hogfarm Studios

Music seen: February 28, in Biddeford
Biddeford's Hogfarm Studios is a multi-media art space that occasionally serves as a small venue.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | March 12, 2009

Music seen: Tony McNaboe

Live at The Big Easy, February 10
By the time you, dear reader, lay eyes on this, you will have one last opportunity to catch Tony McNaboe's month-long Tuesday-night residency at the Big Easy, which — according to his prediction on week two — is "only going to get better."

By SONYA TOMLINSON | February 19, 2009

Music Seen: Anticon's 10th anniversary

Knitting Factory (Manhattan), December 18, 2008
Sure, Ray LaMontagne is huge and the Rustic Overtones saw their national time, but there is something to be said for a record label co-founded by Mainers that is more than a decade old and can still sell out the Knitting Factory in New York City.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | December 31, 2008

On street level

As Katrina hit New Orleans, filmmakers went to work
It is impossible not to wonder how Louisiana might have fared after Hurricane Katrina, had Barack Obama been in office a term sooner. There are so many questions about what went wrong and how it could have been handled differently, which have gone unanswered for more than three years.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | November 19, 2008