Fresh off a rousing full house for our Tom Chapin show, the Olde Church Acoustic Series is excited to host Cole Quest and the City Pickers, Kate McDonnell and Daniel Hardin on Nov 4 at 7pm. An at-will donation at the door (and if possible a donation of new white crew socks for the homeless**) is appreciated for entrance. Doors open for affordable dinner options at 6pm, and free parking is available in the garage adjacent to the church.

About the Artists:

Cole Quest and The City Pickers Cole and his City Pickers are a group of New York City musicians connected by friendship and a love of bluegrass. Cole Quest, grandson of the folk icon Woody Guthrie, has brought together a collection of eclectic pickers who have gained recognition on the local scene. Performing both Quest’s original tunes as well as traditional favorites, The City Pickers bring their special brand of high-spirited talent to the stage, with up-beat, knee slapping energy and a high lonesome sound that’ll leave you wanting more.  They released their first EP, “Self [En]Titled” in April of 2021 and have been featured in The Bluegrass Situation, Bluegrass Today, Folk Alley, WFUV, American Songwriter, and many more. They’ve shared bills with acts such as Sierra Hull, Sarah Jaroz, Billy Strings & Don Julin, Della Mae, Blind Boy Paxton, and Tony Trischka, and they continue to perform for live audiences throughout the US.

Kate McDonnell
As a precocious four-year-old, Kate McDonell heard a Joan Baez album in her mother’s collection. Her reaction was immediate: she picked up her mom’s guitar, taller than she was, and started to teach herself how to play the instrument, strung for a right-handed player, left-handed “upside down and backwards,” using her stronger right hand for chording and ignoring the customary positioning of the guitar strings.  This has led to a long career including early years touring with her sister and later joining Freddie Tane to form McDonnell-Tane and cut two successful albums over several years the duo opened for touring stars such as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Judy Collins. Kate also found time to join an all-female trio, Colossal Olive, which gigged in the New Haven area.  In 1992, she released her debut solo album, “Broken Bones,” and was voted the #1 singer-songwriter in New Haven in the New Haven Advocate’s poll. Jonathan Edwards called her “one of the premier female solo acoustic acts around,”. She hit the studio again in the summer of 2020 to record her 5th album “Ballad of a Bad Girl”. This collection of 11 songs comprises two covers by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Richard Thompson, with the balance being original pieces. She is very excited to bring her new songs to her fans, old, new, and yet to be.

Daniel Hardin
Daniel Hardin is a singer/songwriter and guitarist out of NYC who continues to write prolifically, releasing songs on a monthly basis and refusing to be pigeonholed into a particular genre.  He released his 3rd album “Rock for the Honda CR-V” in the fall of 2021. It is a moodier, darker mix of songs than his 2020 release “Spice Cabinet”. Spice Cabinet was a blend of funk, rock, Americana and jazz that featured musicians known around the globe including Mark Lettieri (Snarky Puppy, The Fearless Flyers), Ariel Posen, Jesus Molina, and Emrah Kotan. Daniel is also a talented luthier and a proud member of the Humble Plum Universe, a fun and unique collaboration that comes together on occasion with the challenge of writing, producing and releasing an entire CD in 24 hours. Daniel has played at the Bitter End in NYC, sold out the Velvet Note in Alpharetta GA and is settling into NYC after graduating from college in Athens, GA. Trivia: if you’ve watched any of the Olde Church videos, it is Daniel’s intro and outro composition that bookends our video productions.

**Socktober**
Our generous host, The First Church of Meriden, is asking for all of us to help make their Socktober initiative a big success; so let’s rock their socks off by donating pair(s) of new, white men’s cotton crew socks to help the local homeless community. [Men’s Size 6-12 will fit most all men and women.]