Debra Cowan, Doug Farrell, Sam Bayer at Somerville Armory Cafe Saturday Jan. 6

The concert will feature a solo set by each artist, followed by a round robin song swap. The show begins at 7:30 pm with an open mic, and admission is $10. The Armory Cafe is at 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville. For more information call 617-718-2191 or visit artsatthearmory.org or www.facebook.com/SomervilleSongwriterSessions. Email SomervilleSongwriterSessions@gmail.com to reserve an open mic slot. 
 
Somerville Songwriter Sessions at the Armory Cafe presents contemporary folk singer/songwriters in concert, on the first Saturday of each month. The Armory Cafe features live music in an intimate setting, a menu featuring sandwiches, soups, desserts and coffees, and plenty of free parking. 
 
“Stunning” is a word that is often used to describe Debra Cowan‘s vocals. She performs unaccompanied and with guitar, interpreting a wide range of traditional and contemporary folk songs. Debra’s performances impress listeners with her clarity, warmth, agility, all the while encouraging the audience to join in on choruses and refrains. Her four recordings have been met with high praise world-wide and in June 2015, she was featured in the UK folk music magazine, Living Tradition. She tours extensively in the United Kingdom and in North America and can also be seen on stage with her good friend, singer and musician John Roberts. Between travels, she makes her home near Worcester, Massachusetts with her husband and their two cats, Hazel n’ Herman. More on Debra at debracowan.com.
 
Southern New Hampshire songwriter Doug Farrell has been a finalist in the New England Songwriting competition at the Ossipee Music Festival, receiving an honorable mention for his song “Spirit Man”. He has also won first place in other New England songwriting competitions, and has been featured on various radio shows including NHPR’s “The Folk Show”. You can also hear him in the trio Decatur Creek with JackCarlton and Steve Dionne. While Doug works on his next CD, you can hear some of his newer music at www.reverbnation.com/dougfarrell.
 
Cambridge singer/songwriter Sam Bayer is your literate, exuberant guide to an imaginary world where housewives win the Nobel Prize in physics, poker-playing children gamble over their bedtimes, and metaphorical elephants pirouette in the den, four and a half minutes at a time. His latest studio CD, The Great Indoors, brings 11 gems from his universe to yours. More at sambayer.com.