This is the 8th show in a new all pro songwriters showcase series at Project Barley in Lomita. Great sounding room and is owned and operated by musicians!! Space is limited so arrive early to get a seat. Great selection award winning crafted beer and fantastic food; pizza (including vegan and gluten free options) and sandwiches are available but you must order by 7:30PM. No reservations are accepted. NEW LA COUNTY COVID-19 RULES: MASKS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY, ORDERING AND WHENEVER NOT AT A TABLE EATING AND DRINKING. Gonna be another killer show! No cover but donations are strongly encouraged. Here's who is playing:

JOEL RAFAEL Singer-songwriter and folk musician Joel Rafael has been writing and performing for over 50 years. During the late 1970s, Rafael performed around Southern California in various groups including as a duo with Rosie Flores. In the early 1980s, he found a niche in San Diego County as an opener for nationally touring acts for several local promoters, which allowed him to grow as a performer of his own original songs. Shortly after Rafael recorded his first album Dharma Bums (1981) with San Diego songwriter Richard Bowen, Jesse Colin Young added him as an opener on a tour of the Southwest. In the early 1990s, with the mentoring support of Paul Rothchild, the Joel Rafael Band was born.

After releasing two albums with the Joel Rafael Band, Joel Rafael Band (1994), Old Wood Barn (1996)), he was invited to join Jackson Browne's Inside Recordings for a third album, Hopper (2000), which would end up being the band's last. In 2002, with his daughter Jamaica Rafael on violin and guitar-player Carl Johnson, he wrote and performed the musical score, including five original songs, for Frank Galati's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath, in celebration of John Steinbeck's 100th birthday. After a week of performances at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, the live recording became part of NPR archives where it surfaces annually. Having performed for five years on the Woody Guthrie Festival, Rafael released an album of all Woody Guthrie tunes, Woodeye (2003) - which included one song for which he composed the music, and one original talking piece combined with a Woody Guthrie song.

Rose Avenue (2019), Joel Rafael's latest work, gracefully defines him and his contribution to the American canon. The ten-song masterpiece includes nine originals that reflect the honest accounting of a man in his 70th year, with a lifetime's insight into the songs he writes; as well as a full measure of gratitude for what has been, and what lies ahead.

As a solo performer and with his band, Rafael has opened shows and shared stages with artists including Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Joan Baez, John Lee Hooker, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, John Trudell, Laura Nyro, Kris Kristofferson, Dar Williams, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Odetta, and Taj Mahal.

FREEBO Freebo is a genuine folk, rock and blues icon who, after over 40 years of recording and touring with many of the great artists of our time (Bonnie Raitt 10 years, CSN, Maria Muldaur, John Mayall, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, Neil Young, & many more) is regarded as one of the most gifted singer-songwriters of today. A multi award winner and finalist in numerous songwriting contests, Freebo was also recognized as the 'Best Folk Artist 2007' by the Los Angeles Music Awards. In addition, he has appeared on Saturday Night Live, The Muppet Show, The Midnight Special, and in concert with the legendary Spinal Tap. Freebo’s compassionate concern for the world and people around him, as evidenced both in his lyrics and his open stage banter, has helped him connect with listeners worldwide. He will take an audience from insights about what kind of positive mark we hope to leave on the world upon our own passing with “Standing Ovation” to where you stand with your pets and your partner with "She Loves My Dog More Than Me." A musical evening with Freebo will be astute, insightful, clever, and truly melodic.

After meeting critically acclaimed folk artist Alice Howe in 2016, Freebo and Alice formed a duo that has toured extensively throughout the US as well as overseas. Freebo also produced two of Alice’s solo CDS; 2019 “Visions” and her forthcoming untitled as of now 2022 release.

ALICE HOWE

With her soulful, impeccably-tuned voice and crafted poetry, Alice Howe offers a love letter to 60s and 70s folk and timeless blues. Hailing from Boston and now based in Los Angeles, Alice released her critically acclaimed full-length debut, Visions, produced by Freebo (Bonnie Raitt) in 2019. She has been marked as one to watch since her 2017 EP You’ve Been Away So Long debuted on the Folk Radio Charts with a #1 Most-Played song, “Homeland Blues.” Howe’s path to “up-and-coming” artist seems both fated and winding. While music was always her companion, it didn’t become her profession until she decided to attend the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in 2016. There, she met Freebo, Bonnie Raitt’s beloved bassist for a decade and veteran of performances and collaborations with Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Ringo Starr, Loudon Wainwright III, Neil Young, Dr. John, and more. Howe knew she’d found an ideal collaborator. “I feel like it all happened because I was open to it and ready for it to happen,” she says, then adds with a laugh, “I was ready, so the universe said yes to me.” Freebo invited Howe to record in Southern California, and Bakersfield’s sun-bleached grit became a creative counterweight to Howe’s lush New England naturalism. American roots music became Howe’s playground: blues, bluegrass, folk, and pop––with celtic nods––take turns defining the sounds on Visions, anchored by her rich soprano. An ace band backed Howe like she’d never been backed before, and the resulting collection is polished but energized by a young artist’s hunger to prove herself. Alice’s sophomore album was recorded at iconic FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL with an all-star band, and is due out Spring 2022.

KELLY FITZGERALD Playing over 200 nights a year, Singer/Songwriter Kelly Fitzgerald has toured all over the world as a solo and ensemble performer. She and her band have shared stages with artists such as John Hiatt, Shelby Lynn, Nancy Griffith, Cheap Trick, Eddie Money, The Gin Blossoms, Ben Taylor, John Oats, Vonda Shepard, The BoDeans and others. Her much-anticipated album, Find the Silver Lining, is her sixth release, following Be, That and Change, So Far, Halfway to Naked, and Vesica Pisces. Kelly also released a full length Christmas CD titled Into Christmas in November 2013, featuring six original songs and six classic covers. In the spring of 2020, Kelly wrote and performed music that was included the Making HERstory event, an inspirational tribute to the women who helped pave the way for equal rights, and a celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution.

While signed to an independent record label, Kelly and her band had the pleasure of recording the Halfway to Naked album with Grammy Award Winning producer Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick). "It was a great experience working with Jack," says Kelly. Jack responded by saying, "The songs are well crafted and the girl sings phenomenally." In April 2003, the single “No Easy Way Out” (written by Wayne Kramer) from the Halfway To Naked album won accolades for the band by earning the #2 spot for the most added spins just behind Lucinda William's “Righteously” on the triple A charts. The Halfway to Naked album earned Kelly and her band a nomination for Best Adult Contemporary artist by the LA Music Awards in 2003, which they won in 2000 for the same category. Kelly was also nominated for Best Female Vocalist. In 2005, she was nominated for Best Female Vocalist and Best Solo Performer at the Orange County Music Awards and in 2006 Kelly made the "Music Connection's Hot 100 Unsigned Artists" list.

JODI SIEGEL Jodi was born in Chicago, Illinois; The Home of the Blues! She eventually relocated to Southern California and began playing and singing in countless blues, R & B, pop and original music bands throughout Orange Country, Los Angeles and San Diego. Over the years she has opened for and or shared the stage with many respected and legendary musicians including; Albert King, Robben Ford, Robert Cray, J.D. Souther, David Lindley, Fred Tacket and Paul Barrere of Little Feat and others. Her songs have been covered by Maria Muldaur, Marcia Ball and Teresa James. Her new CD, "Wild Hearts" features the A list of Los Angeles and is produced by Steve Postell. It has received great reviews from Patrick Simmons (Doobie Brothers), Walter Trout, Maria Muldaur, David Mansfield, Leland Skalr and others.