Singer/songwriters earn local spotlight

STANHOPE - Every Tuesday night music at the Stanhope House slows down a bit as the Singer/Songwriter Showcase Series takes the stage. “It’s great to have all the bigger acts come in and play the Stanhope House, but we also want to be a place where talented singer-songwriters, generally solo acts or duos, can showcase their material too,” said Matt Angus, owner of The Stanhope House. “There are a lot of very talented people out there and this is our way of spotlighting them.” Among those who have performed are Gregg Cagno, Maria Woodford and Mef & Angela, with upcoming dates featuring Christine Havrilla on Aug. 28, Laura Higgins on Sept. 4 and Gretchen Witt on Sept.18. Havrilla took the East Coast by storm with thousands of listeners at Musikfest, Philadelphia AIDS Walk, Penn State Arts Fest, and New York’s Central Park and followed up those performances with appearances on CN8’s “Your Morning” and NBC’s 10!. Havrilla also performs sellout shows in venerable venues such as Philadelphia’s The Point, Tin Angel, World Cafe Live! and in the Kimmel Center. Higgins says she is a singer/songwriter who writes out of necessity. Her music is raw, honest, wracked with emotion that critics find a and a refreshing break from the prepackaged sounds currently on the radio. Drawing from her haunted past (which ranges from teenage angst to a cancer diagnosis at the age of 19) and her passion for literature, Higgins’ songs are often lyrically unexpected and seeping with drama. As a junior at Boston College, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and left school to undergo chemotherapy. “It felt like my life was pulled out from under me and I was disappearing,” she recalled. “I was wracked with a hundred emotions at once and I couldn’t figure out how to process them all. I ended up writing my way into survivorship, and it’s something that I still continue to do. Post-cancer life is tricky. It can trip you up with fear when you least expect it. I’ve accepted that an ordinary life may always be slightly out of reach for me.” Witt, meanwhile, has played at venues throughout the country, including the legendary Bitter End in New York City. For advance ticket information for these and other Stanhope shows call (973) 347-0458 or visit www.stanhopehouse.com. Also upcoming: Aug. 25, All Mighty Terribles and Radio Galaxy; Aug. 26, DYI (Demand Your Independents) Radio Fundraiser; Aug. 29, Louisiana Red; Sept. 2, Blue Sparks From Hell.