Next week offers musical double-dip

Music fans will have opportunities to enjoy a pair of concerts on back-to-back nights, Friday and Saturday, March 7-8 as Martin Arthur hosts Fran Snyder for a house concert, and Shaky Tree Coffee clears its stage for Mat d.

The Spencer House Concert Series will host Snyder in concert at 8 p.m. Friday, March 7, at Martin Arthur's residence, 323 E. 4th St., Spencer.

Snyder's "pop-rock with a groove" will be something of a departure from the usual - that is, more folk-oriented - house concert fare. His musical influences include Peter Gabriel, the Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan, Queen, and Stevie Wonder.

Emerging as a new,critically acclaimed songwriter and performer in the folk music scene, Mat d. has entertained Midwestern audiences with his gritty approach to old time country and acoustic blues to create a dark signature sound best described as hard luck Americana. He was originally scheduled to play the Shaky Tree last month but the concert had to be postponed with the passing of his father.

(Photos submitted) Singer/songwriter Fran Snyder will perform in Spencer on March 7.

Snyder can command a crowd with just a microphone and his acoustic guitar.

Armed with great original songs, surprising cover tunes, and more than a handful of humor, he knows how to connect with even the most informal audience. Snyder has played colleges, clubs, and mainstages all over the United States, touring extensively as a solo act, as well as part of the "acoustic hip-hop duo" Six Strings and Vinyl. On the mainstage, he has opened for many of his heroes, including Shawn Mullins, Shawn Colvin, Don Henley, Peter Stuart, Dan Fogelberg, Cowboy Junkies, and Boz Scaggs.

Snyder was voted "Best Solo Act" and "Best Overall Performer" from the mid to late 1990s in Jam Magazine and Creative Loafing, and ASCAP has awarded him their "Special Pop Music Award" for four years running. In 1998 he ventured into the NACA (National Association of Campus Activities) Tour, instantly being named the number one music act at his first NACA Conference. He has since toured and performed in 35 states, garnering a long-awaited and much-deserved national following.

In addition to being a performer, Snyder is one of three people behind "Concerts In Your Home," a Web-based meeting place for house concert presenters and performers (www.concertsinyourhome.com).

Mat d's lyrical themes focus on life from the darker side of the tracks with a raw sense of wit combined with a faint, if not tarnished, silver lining.

Mat d's lyrical themes focus on life from the darker side of the tracks with a raw sense of wit combined with a faint if not tarnished silver lining. Jim Pipkin of HickoryWind.org, who picked Mat d's album "Gasoline Rattle" as one of the top four CD's of 2007, wrote, "Mat reminds me of a young Steve Earle with a better set of pipes...Mat's songs are funny, crusty, dirty glimpses into an America out beyond the strip malls. The subjects of his songs flash by like memories of a road trip, with recurring themes of faith, cynicism, and finding what love the world throws at us."

Mat has also cruised into 2008 with some 2007 accolades. Folk Rising, a community of musicians and acoustic music enthusiasts based in Sioux Falls, S.D. dedicated to helping the folk music scene reach new heights, named Mat's album "Gasoline Rattle" album of the year in 2007. Gary Kappenman, head of A&R for the organization said the record "combines the best of old acoustic roots/folk/country blues music with leading edge Americana blues and a hard driving gospel flavor. My favorite lyric is from his 'Bound for Glory' track which provides hope in the depths of despair with 'Baby, this train is still bound for glory, despite all of our rambling ways'".

Mat d. won the Friends of Traditional Music (FOTM)'s Sioux River Folk Festival campground contest last summer at Newton Hills in Canton, S.D. and will be performing at this year's Sioux River Folk Festival on Aug. 13. His music continues to turn the heads of audiences both young and old with his unmistakable voice and a modern, yet traditionally rooted songwriting style. Dark and compelling, somber and bittersweet, Mat's music not only haunts the soul - but inspires it.

As its name implies, the Spencer House Concert Series presents concerts in the intimate setting of a private living room. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. There are no tickets to buy, but a donation of $10--$15 per person is suggested, with all proceeds going to the artists. Some snacks and beverages are provided, but guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of their choice and a snack to share.

Shaky Tree will be serving from its regular food and beverage menu.