LadyLake Boston Showcase

The Haymarket Lounge, City Winery, Boston, MA

June 23, 2019

LadyLake Entertainment is a PR agency that represents several extremely talented music artists. I first discovered LadyLake back before I launched the music blog, during the ramp-up of my re-discovery of new music that eventually led me to return to music journalism. Of the three LadyLake artists featured in this showcase, held in The Haymarket Lounge within Boston’s City Winery, two were Boston-based. I had only previously been familiar with the duo of Lori Diamond & Fred Abatelli. This event was my introduction to the music of Linda Marks and David Martinez.

David Martinez

A Corpus Christi, Texas-based singer-songwriter, guitarist David Martinez kicked things off with “The Otherside,” a smooth number that started out as a strummer and then slid into a groove. Next up was “I’m Alright,” a jangly tune with a sweet groove.

David proved he could do the sweet, poignant thing, as well, with his performance of “Sweet Sister.” And then, on “What You Need,” David’s music took a funky rockin’ turn, as if he was channeling Lenny Kravitz and maybe a little bit of the Rolling Stones.

Next up was the title track from David’s most recent recording, “Piece of Me,” a ’90s/’00s-style acoustic singer-songwriter tune. There’s a kind of an acoustic pop-punk vocal edge in this sentimental song. Or, at least, it pays slight homage to that subgenre in the vocal and guitar style that gives “Piece of Me” its melancholy edge.

David closed his set with “Hey Mary,” a song with a catchy chorus and spoken-word, not-quite-hip-hop verses (delivered stylistically as if a movie voice-over). This song reminds me of something one of my favorite ’80s/’90s hair bands would have done back in the day. Exceptionally well put-together.

In all, a much-too-short sampling of this versatile, talented singer-songwriter’s capabilities.

Linda Marks

Boston-based Linda Marks followed, on the keyboard flanked by a guitarist and a violinist, showcasing her soaring vocals and focusing on songs from her yet-to-be-released (at the time) album In Grace, which dropped in September.

She opened with “Shallow,” a soft, soaring arrangement suited to this trio. Then “The Lion,” a song about addiction, sounding as if it was straight off of a poignant musical theater soundtrack.

Linda’s third song could have come straight out of a church service. As fellow performer and LadyLake artist Lori Diamond quipped to me, Linda’s music is liturgical. Indeed, and especially in this instant, very much so.

Linda followed with “Living on the Dark Side of the Moon,” a song she called a “torch song for a narcissist.” There’s almost a Tom Lehrer-ish, vaudevillian undercurrent in this hauntingly soaring number.

After a poignant fifth number, Linda and her band closed with their sixth song, “Light Up the Love.” A rich piano sound conveys the warmth of this song’s vocals. As throughout the set, I noticeably enjoyed the added texture of the violin while the guitar picking brought to mind a waterfall. As so often in her songs, Linda’s voice soars on this one, as well.

Lori Diamond & Fred Abatelli

Easy listening singer-songwriters Lori Diamond and Fred Abatelli were the evening’s final performers. They were joined onstage by Kim Jennings, just as they had been the last time I saw them perform, in December 2017. Here’s the thing about Lori and Fred. Yeah, they’re crazy talented, but also, do they ever miss a note?

They opened their set with “Good Harbor,” a favorite warm, comforting song with rich harmonies, followed by “The Outside,” whose powerful vocals splash across such subtle richness and depth of sound.

“Lifted” is one of those songs that reminds me Fred’s voice could carry anything from a mid-tempo rock group to a folky soft rock band, while also showcasing Lori’s sweet highs and rich lows. As much as Lori’s voice is more typically the signature sound of this duo, it’s easy to forget Fred’s vocal talents… until you’re emphatically reminded.

The duo next premiered a new tune, “The Good in You,” a rising and falling, more wall-of-sound, full-sounding song than usual. As part of the song’s coolness, I enjoyed Fred’s riffing guitar run.

Finally, Lori and Fred closed their set with their arrangement of “Wayfaring Stranger,” full of their own style and character. Lori pulls out some of her torchier, loungier vocals on this one. And Fred’s guitar has that weepy, tortured soul thing going on. A longtime crowd favorite and a great way to end the set for this transcendentally talented local duo.

Closing Number

After the end of Lori and Fred’s set, the evening’s entire line-up returned to the stage, joined by LadyLake Entertainment chief Cindy D’Adamo for a performance of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.”

Looking Ahead

Per his Facebook page, David Martinez has a February 14, 2020 gig at Bar Under the Sun in Corpus Christi, TX.

The “Upcoming Events” page on Linda Marks’ website lists several upcoming shows in December. On December 2nd, she’ll be one of the nine members of the Women in Music Gathering to be showcasing as part of the LadyLake Music’s Charity Umbrella Initiative at the Hearing Room in Lowell, MA. On December 6th, she’ll be at the Square Root Cafe in Roslindale, MA. On December 11th, she’ll be at the RISA Songwriters in the Round event at AS220 in Providence, RI. She’ll be at the EBASS Christmas Show at The Burren in Somerville, MA on December 22nd. And on December 27th, Lucy will be one of the performers singing the music of Carole King and James Taylor at the Dedham Square Coffeehouse in Dedham, MA. See Linda’s website for more details and new dates as they’re added.

The “Tour” page of Lori Diamond & Fred Abatelli’s website lists a December 7th, 2019 gig at The Music Salon, hosted by Linda Marks (who will perform an opening set) in Waltham, MA; a March 28, 2020 performance as two-fourths of Fate’s Landing, splitting the bill with the Clark-Page Project at the Tremedal Concert Series in Watertown, MA; and  on September 20, 2020 at Applefest in Northborough, MA.

You can keep current with LadyLake Entertainment and all of LadyLake’s artists at the company’s Facebook page, its Twitter feed, and its Instagram account.