by Jeff Stoodt
Jill Sobule, one of the top pop singer-songwriters working today, will get the Milton Art Center’s first professional music series off to an electrifying start on Sunday, October 5 at 7 pm. She will perform songs from her latest release, Dottie’s Charm, a work so innovative that it attracted coverage from The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, and The Huffington Post.
After gaining wide attention with her hit “I Kissed a Girl” in 1995, Sobule has built a career that’s truly multi-faceted. First of all, she’s collaborated with several prestigious musical stars: Todd Rundgren, Don Was, John Doe, and Lloyd Cole. She once toured with Warren Zevon. She’s written for The Huffington Post and given TED talks on her own and with former SNL comedienne Julia Sweeney. Jill Sobule was one of the first major names to employ crowd-sourcing to fund a CD (2009’s California).
An antique charm bracelet that she’d received as a gift became the inspiration for Dottie’s Charms. Wondering about the story behind each charm, Sobule decided that she’d tap her friends who are published authors to help her create a song for each charm. It’s a novel concept that led to one of Sobule’s strongest releases.
Other concerts in the Milton Music Series include former Texas State Musician Sara Hickman on Saturday, November 8 and Jennifer Kimball on Saturday, December 6. Hickman is a veteran star of the Austin music scene who performs a beguiling mix of deeply introspective songs and music that’s spiritually uplifting. Jennifer Kimball once paired with Jonatha Brooke in the group The Story. After two critically-celebrated popular releases in the early 1990s, the group disbanded. Jennifer Kimball then launched a highly successful solo career.
Tickets for individual shows are $20. The entire series is available for the discount price of $55. Think about that. For the price you’d pay for a balcony theater ticket in Boston you get three of the finest singer-songwriters of their generation. Go to www.miltonartcenter.org to buy tickets in advance.
On a day in which we Celebrate Milton, why not support the mission of the Milton Art Center by attending a show? It’s just another way that the Art Center is building community. It’s another way to make your town matter even more.