Legends, Locals, and Up-and-Comers to Play
It has been another busy summer at the Stephen Talkhouse, the Amagansett bar and intimate live-music venue that has been hosting internationally recognized artists — onstage and in the audience — since 1987. This year, the venue has featured legendary performers including Taj Mahal, Southside Johnny, Buster Poindexter, the English Beat, David Bromberg, Leon Russell, Sonny Landreth, and, last night, Junior Brown.
As Labor Day approaches, the Talkhouse continues to offer live music nightly. On Sunday, Rufus and Martha Wainwright are set for an 8 p.m. show, and Jorma Kaukonen, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, will play on Aug. 29.
Many of these artists have spoken reverently about the tiny venue. For some, it conjures fond recollections of their early career; others voice appreciation for the up-close and direct connection with the audience.
In between the big-name, big-ticket artists, though, up-and-coming acts from the South Fork and elsewhere clamor to perform on the stage that has also hosted the likes of Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Jon Bon Jovi, Sting, and Billy Joel, among so many others. This week, two young artists will take that stage as they build an audience and forge their own careers.
Tomorrow, the vocalist Isabel Rose will perform at 8 p.m. Ms. Rose’s second album, “Trouble in Paradise,” is out Sept. 16 on BDG/Red, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
Produced by Bob Rock and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge and Al Schmitt, “Trouble in Paradise” features interpretations of pop classics and American-songbook selections as well as original songs. The album’s lush orchestration recalls artists like Michael Buble, for whom Mr. Rock serves as a producer, and Diana Krall, whose recordings are recorded and mixed by Mr. Schmitt. A 19-time Grammy Award winner, Mr. Schmitt mixed the original “Peter Gunn” for Henry Mancini, and has done it again for Ms. Rose on “Trouble in Paradise.”
“My goal is to connect very directly with my audience,” Ms. Rose, who lives in New York and East Hampton, said, “so I’m always looking for venues like the Talkhouse that allow me to feel the energy very directly. That’s my job: to be the host of a really wonderful party that nobody wants to leave.”
Tomorrow’s performance will mark Ms. Rose’s Talkhouse debut. She will perform on Sept. 14 in Philadelphia, with an album-release party on Sept. 16 at the Cutting Room in Manhattan.
“I’ve been coming to the Hamptons since I was a teenager, and I’ve been in the Hamptons as a homeowner for many years,” she said. “We’re kicking off the ‘Trouble in Paradise’ tour at the Talkhouse because that is home base for me. My band and I are always happy to get out of the city, feel the beautiful beach air, and play for an audience that is also happily out of the city — happily ‘Hamptonized.’ ”
On Tuesday, Marco With Love and the Glazzies, two bands that share as a member Peter Landi, a drummer who is from Sag Harbor, will take the Talkhouse stage. Marco With Love is a new group fronted by Marco Argiro, who has been a member of Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg, Le Mood, and the Killing Floor. The band’s sound has been described as “street-smart electric boogie courtesy of influences from legendary artists like Tom Petty and the Kinks.” A release is due from the band late this year.
Prior to the band’s 7:30 p.m. show, it will offer a preview at 5 p.m. at Innersleeve Records, a short walk down Amagansett’s Main Street.
Mr. Argiro’s first experience at the Talkhouse came a few years ago, as a supporting act for the Glazzies. “I love the venue and the town,” he said. “Since then, we started making music together, and now we’re going to make our triumphant return.”
“I’ve been playing there since I was 14 with my very first band,” Mr. Landi said of the Talkhouse, “and then with the Glazzies. I’ve been playing there quite a bit and had some of my best shows there. They’ve always been super-cool and supportive in letting us play. It will be exciting to get Marco With Love out here as well — I go into New York City all the time, but those guys haven’t been out here where I grew up, so it will be cool to show them the local venue and record store — we’re all big into vinyl.”
Tickets for Ms. Rose’s performance are $30. Entry to the Glazzies and Marco With Love’s performance costs $10. Both are available at stephentalkhouse.com or at the door.