"Terry Kitchen and Mara Levine are a sensory treat in concert. They blend folk
tradition with Terry's contemporary songs of the human condition in outstanding
harmony."-Diane Crowe, Mt. Toby Concerts
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"Terry Kitchen's songs deftly reveal the human heart in all its grace and
contradictions. When he and Mara Levine join their voices, the result is simply
beautiful."-Si Kahn, singer, songwriter, playwright, activist
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"Singer songwriter Terry Kitchen from Boston, together with Mara Levine,
rendered a superb performance at The Borderline Folk Club. Terry writes some
brilliant lyrics and melodies which reflect his inner feelings of love for his
fellow human beings. His songs convey a feeling of inner peace to the listener.
Mara Levine's soothing alto voice, reminiscent of Judy Collins, adds a totally
new dimension to the performance and elevates it a notch above excellence.
Her very stage presence brings a breath of fresh air to the venue. Together they
blend like honey and velvet."-Sol Zeller, President, The Borderline Folk Music
Club
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In 2008, award-winning Boston-based singer/songwriter Terry Kitchen had a gig in his home state of New Jersey, where he heard Mara Levine sing harmony with each of the other two acts. Kitchen was both impressed and jealous, and told her how much he enjoyed her performance. She promptly offered to back him up next time he was in the area. After a warm up set at the Minstrel Coffeehouse's open mic, they debuted together in April 2008 at the People's Voice Cafe in NYC. They have since performed as a duo at venues including the Rockwood Music Hall, Godfrey Daniels, the Troubadour Acoustic Concert Series, the Borderline Folk Club, and the Place and Musical Lairs house concerts, and they have released a duo EP, appeared on each other's solo CDs, and are planning a full length duo CD.
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Called "one of New England's best songwriters" by The Boston Globe, Terry Kitchen creates songs that are portraits of ordinary people and emotions, captured with extraordinary compassion, honesty and humor. His latest album Next Time We Meet debuted on both the national Folk-DJ album and song charts for February 2020, following his 2017 CD The Quiet Places, which reached #22 on the Folk-DJ albumay chart, with its lead track "Enjoy It While It Lasts" reaching #8 on the song chart. His 2015 CD The Post-American Century reached #19 on Folk-DJ, and was nominated for Best Solo CD in Limelight Magazine's 2015 Readers' Poll. Kitchen's songs have won the USA Songwriting Competition and the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and been runner up in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. His previous CDs include Summer to Snowflakes (2009), Heaven Here on Earth (2007), that's how it used to be (2004), Right Now (2002), blues for cain & abel (1999), blanket (1997), and I Own This Town (1995). Terry has performed at folk clubs across the U.S. and Canada including Club Passim, the Postcrypt Coffeehouse, Cafe Lena and the Bluebird Cafe, and at festivals including the Falcon Ridge, Telluride, Solarfest and South Florida folk festivals. His 2013 novel Next Big Thing, based on his experiences with the Boston band Loose Ties in the 1980s, was called "a great debut novel" by the San Francisco Book Review.
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Called “one of the best singers of her generation” by Christine Lavin, and “Golden Voiced” by David Amram, international touring artist and jewelry designer Mara Levine, like a skilled gem cutter, selects songs with inherent beauty, examines them carefully, then crafts and polishes them to a glittering brilliance. According to folksinger and activist Si Kahn, “Layering harmony line on top of harmony line, Levine creates rich tapestries of sound and emotion.” Her most recent CD, Facets of Folk has been critically acclaimed and was the #1 album on Folk Alliance International Folk DJ-Chart for January 2019, with the #1 artist and song spots, and was the #3 album for 2019, with Mara claiming the #2 artist spot overall for 2019.
Her second album, Jewels and Harmony, received stellar reviews and was the #1 album on the International Folk-DJ chart for January 2013 as well as reaching #3 overall for 2013. The CD also had the two top songs and Mara was named the most played artist for the month. In addition, Cover Lay Down named it the #4 cover album of 2013.
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Mara was nominated by Ron Olesko in 2009 for the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. She was selected for a NERFA Quad showcase for 2014 and a NERFA Semi-Formal showcase for 2019.
Her debut CD Mara's Gems (a reference to both her music and her jewelry making) was #52 on Folk-DJ's 2009 annual countdown. Since then Mara has had six #1 songs on International Folk-DJ Chart, her version of Bob Franke's "Straw Against the Chill" with Joe Jencks (2010), her arrangement of Paul Simon's "Leaves That Are Green" with Gathering Time (2011), her arrangement of Michael Smith's "The Dutchman" with Si Kahn(2013), her version of "By My Silence" by Ellen Bukstel and Nick Annis, with Gathering Time(2017),"You Reap What You Sow" by Susan Shann recorded with bluegrass luminaries(2017), and "Daughters and Sons" by Tommy Sands, recorded with Gathering Time and Kim & Reggie Harris(2019). Mara has also provided vocals for recordings by Gathering Time, Andy Antipin, Spook Handy, Jim Indelicato, Terry Kitchen, Terry Rivel, Dan Schatz and Bob Wright.
In addition to performing with Terry, Mara performs as a duo with Caroline Cutroneo, shares bills with Gathering Time, has co-billed with Robin Greenstein, Co-billed with The Whispering Tree and she has sung with a number of groups and musicians. She has performed at venues across the United States including Swallow Hill in Denver, WFMT Folkstage in Chicago, Sunday Afternoon Live(Raymond Washington), the On Your Radar Series(NY), the Hurdy Gurdy Folk Club(NJ), the Franklin House Concerts(MA), the Sarasota Folk Club(FL) and festivals including The South Florida Folk Festival, the Folk Project Festival, The Great South Bay Music Festival, the Highlands Bluegrass festival, Wilmington Wintergrass festival, the Crossroads Folk Festival, and she has toured in Europe.
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