Mary Casiello, Jay Verchin, Rachel Marie

The concert features a set by each artist, followed by a round robin song swap. The show begins at 7:00 pm with an open mic and the features begin at 7:30 PM. Admission is $15 at the door. The Armory Cafe is at 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville, just a few blocks from the new Magoun Square Green Line T station. For more information call 617-718-2191 or visit artsatthearmory.org or www.facebook.com/SomervilleSongwriterSessions. To sign up for the open mic email SomervilleSongwriterSessions@gmail.com.

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. Our 5/4 performers:

Mary Casiello is a Boston-area singer, songwriter, and pianist. She is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, where she was a voice principle and received a Bachelor’s of Music in songwriting. Her solo material is creative, quirky, and cathartic, and has received favorable comparison to artists like Sara Bareilles, Billy Joel, Ben Folds, and Carole King. She has been a frequent face in the Boston-area music scene, having shared stage with Darlingside, Gretchen and the Pickpockets, Kristen Ford, Rachel Marie, Jessye DeSilva, Kristen Ford, George Woods, Olivia Brownlee, Florie Namir, and many others. She is also a singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the energetic rock band Three At Home, who were 2019 New England Music Award nominees for Best in Massachusetts. The band have received critical acclaim from publications like Medium and features in Country Queer. “Mary should be a famous songwriter for Disney or Pixar …. Positive energy in spades … a wonderful voice … just plain likable.” – Brian Carroll, Red Line Roots. More at threeathomeband.com.

Always colorful, Jay Verchin is an alto, tenor, songwriter, and conductor from Worcester, MA. Graduating from Clark University in 2021, Jay served for two seasons as the Assistant Conductor and Tenor Section Leader for the Clark University Concert and Chamber Choirs. They currently are a member of the Tutti Music Collective board and chorus, and sing weekly with St. John’s Catholic Church professional Schola in Worcester. Formerly, Jay held section leader positions at All Saints Church in Worcester, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Cambridge, and has appeared with Nightingale Vocal Ensemble, Magari Ensemble, and Jubilate Choir. Their most notable work was premiering Rachel Burckardt’s Mt. Auburn Requiem in October 2022, and as the Bo’sun in the 21st Century Premiere of Gena Branscombe’s Choral Drama, Pilgrims of Destiny. In addition to singing, Jay is a Jewish educator, and in 2021, released their first full length album, Vessels. More at jayverchin.com.

Rachel Marie (she/they) follows in a tradition of unapologetically forthright women folksingers, with songs that hearken to “overstuffed lines of Tori Amos, philosophical turn of Indigo Girls, and lilting vocals like Joni Mitchell” (Victoria Farmer, The Christian Humanist Podcast). The social awareness of folk meets the introspection, catharsis, and healing of the singer-songwriter tradition. “Add in a brilliantly woven, genuine, and sometimes silly banter and Rachel’s unique show will stay with you a long time” (Tom Bianchi, 24 Hour Music). Boston-based and Pennsylvania-raised, Rachel has played at prestigious folk venues including the me & thee (MA), Club Passim (MA), the Burren (MA), and Godfrey Daniels (PA). Rachel’s latest full-length album, False Foundations, was released in May 2018, and a new album is in the works for 2024. More at rachelmarie.com.