THE ROOTS CAFÉ SINGER-SONGWRITER SERIES PRESENTS:

“CHRISTMAS IN BALTIMORE”
FEATURING ORIGINAL MUSIC PERFORMED BY
JAMES VON LENZ & GEOFFREY HIMES

The Roots Café Christmas Show has become an annual tradition in Baltimore, as performers not only put a new twist on the holiday but add new compositions to the Christmas canon. Himes, who wrote the musical theater piece, “A Baltimore Christmas Carol,” for the Creative Alliance in 2005, will reprise songs from the show plus newer songs about the winter celebration. Von Lenz will also be unveiling new material on the Yuletide theme. Both artists will be signing their recent books and recordings after the show.

Whether performing as a solo artist or as a principal singer-songwriter in Doc Pine & The Respect He Deserves, The Thorn Apples, and Voodoo Pharmacology, James von Lenz combines old, creepy Appalachian music, off kilter honky-tonk, murder ballads, yodeling, and down-and-out blues stomps. He claims his songs “have been filtered through ten feet of sugar maple charcoal, which imparts a distinct smoothness to the music.” Earlier this year, Von Lenz published his first book, “Haikus from the Bandstand,” short verse about the trials and tribulations of a wedding singer. www.jamesvonlenz.com

Though he is best known as a music critic for the Washington Post, American Songwriter, Nashville Scene, Jazz Times, No Depression, Paste and many more, Geoffrey Himes is also a longtime singer-songwriter who has co-written songs with Si Kahn, Fred Koller, Walter Egan, Sonia Rutstein, Billy Kemp, Stephen Wade, Jim Patton, Tony Denikos, James von Lenz, Jennifer Keith, Andrew Grimm, and others. His songs have been recorded by Kemp, the Kinsey Report, Denikos, Koller, Mojo Filter, Patton and others. His book, “In-Law Country: How Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash and Their Circle Fashioned a New Kind of Country Music,” was published by the Country Music Hall of Fame this past winter. “Fables from Italy and Beyond,” his book of collaborative poems with Maryland’s Poet Laureate Grace Cavalieri, was published this summer. His newest book, “Willie Nelson; The Stories Behind the Music,” was published in October. http://www.facebook.com/RootsCafeBaltimore

In-person seats: $15 / $10 students
Attendees receive a link to the recording to view for one week after the concert.

Streaming passes: $12
The link will remain active through Nov. 21