Please join us for Dinner & Music on Friday May 10th at 7pm as we welcome Don Lowe & special guest band “New Middle Class” ( Barbara & Mike Borok)
Dinner theme : Mexican (our belated Cinco de Mayo celebration!)
Mexican "Elote" Street Corn Salad, Grilled Chicken Tinga, Beef Brisket Birria, Arroz Amarillo / Ranchero style Black Beans, Tortilla Chips / Corn & Flour Taco Shells with assorted salsas, guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
Coffee, tea, and dessert (sopapilla and cheesecake bars) - Feel free to BYOB!
Don Lowe has been featured in venues of all types across the eastern corridor (NY/CT/NJ/Mass) and has opened for national acts such as Tom Rush, The Little River Band, Livingston Taylor, Steve Forbert, Kenny White, Toby Walker, Tim Grimm, Danielle Miraglia, David Jacobs-Strain, Johnny A, and the Dana Fuchs Band among many others. In 2023, Don was awarded second place by Litchfield Magazine in the “area’s most popular musician” category.
His brand of Americana music explores life with songs that are in turns witty, arcane, sad, and sometimes, downright silly. Don's repertoire also includes a wide-range of Americana covers through the decades. He enjoys friendly and humorous interaction with the audience – when appropriate – and all 500-plus songs are from memory allowing for optimum performance awareness.
He was open mic host for the venerable Towne Crier Café for 8 years, and for 3 fun years, he and friend Steve Kirkman hosted a weekly radio program called Local Heroes that featured area local singer/songwriters. Don’s second CD, Out Here, was released in September 2014 and his first release, Dogs, Clowns, and Belles came out in 2011. His third CD is set for release in January, 2024. Don is originally from McHenry, North Dakota and currently lives in Sherman, CT where he is the town’s First Selectman (Mayor).
New Middle Class is Barbara Borok (lead vocal) and Mike Borok (guitar/vocal). Their award-winning original songs walk a thin line between the funny and the serious, with distinctive vocals, harmonies and delightfully unexpected lyrical twists and turns. The songs span an eclectic range of styles, often speaking with the voices of different characters.
In the late ‘70’s, Mike led a Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks influenced band called Light Horse Harry. Barbara happened to be in the room at an audition to replace the band’s departing bassist and, upon discovering that this hot chick was neither the wife nor the girlfriend of the new bassist, Mike asked her out. Before long, Barbara’s love of singing inspired her to join the band and she went from girlfriend to backing singer to featured vocalist. Mike’s songwriting became more prolific – it must have been love. Light Horse Harry played the NYC college scene; their shows were loose, lots of fun, and hot swing/bluegrass fiddler Marty Laster would always bring the house down.
Their songs won awards in major songwriting contests, were played on over 50 radio stations worldwide, and they performed in events nationwide, including the Northeastern and Southwestern Folk Alliance conferences, Chicago and Florida festivals, and won Grand Prize at the Music To Life song contest at the prestigious Kerrville (TX) Folk Festival. Their songs also appear on The Folk Next Door IV Local Color, Fast Folk Undercurrents, and on three compilation albums by the Funny Music Project (The FuMP).
Their new album, House of Love, was also recorded at home, as well as two live-action music videos. For one of them, “Quark”, their fans contributed short video clips of this imaginary dance, which were incorporated into the video. And the video for “It Ain’t What It Ain’t” was featured by the national grassroots political organization Braver Angels.
Playfully serious, heartfelt and slightly bent middle-class pop/rock!