The Squid Hell Sessions

NEW MUSIC ALERT: Boston's Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers (Best of 2007 selection) are on the verge of releasing (May 12th) their new six-song EP "The Squid Hell Sessions." A special release party takes place tonight in front of what is bound to be a full house over at the Lizard Lounge. (We understand that the presale tickets are completely gone.) There's a lot of excitement about this band and here's why...

Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers

Matt Butterfield photo

BEEKEEPER BACK STORY: Annie and the Beekeepers is a folk and country inspired quartet that met at Berklee College of Music in December 2006. When Annie Lynch (lead vocal, guitar), Ken Woodward (upright bass), Alexandra Spalding (cello, vocals), and Mat Davidson (mandolin, guitar, accordion, clarinet, vocals) first began playing together in living rooms and basements around Boston, the mysterious disappearance of bee colonies throughout the world was receiving a great deal of attention in the media. As the group built the foundations of their band in coffeehouses and clubs around the Northeast, the collapse of the bee colonies fascinated them and inspired their name.

In the summer of 2007, Annie and the Beekeepers joined Grammy-nominated producer, Jack Gauthier, at his lakeside studio for the recording of their debut, self-titled album, Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers. Creating arrangements for songs that Annie had written months or years prior to the December 2006 session evolved into stronger collaborations, with Woodward and Lynch co-writing “The Bee Song.” The album was released in January of 2008 and has been played frequently on WERS Emerson Radio, and earned fans at The Boston Globe and various other regional publications and blogs. Annie and the Beekeepers went on to play 2008’s Boston Folk Festival, CMJ and South By Southwest in 2009.

Annie Lynch

Adam Jason photo

SQUID HELL, A Love Story Story (of sorts): About a year after the band's self-entitled album was released, Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers arrived at Squid Hell recording studio in Jamaica Plain. Without plans or expectations, the band laid down new songs and live favorites to find what Lynch describes as "a one of the most gratifying creative moments we've shared." The songs recorded that afternoon would set the foundation for Squid Hell Sessions, and in the winter of 2009, the band finished recording at Garth Stevenson’s sweltering home-studio in Brooklyn. The group produced the work with the help of Stevenson, Adrian Olsen, and Kyle Vandekerkhoff.

To that end, the songs on their first album, 2008’s Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers and the forthcoming EP, Squid Hell Sessions (May 12, 2009), are honest, collaborative efforts, drawing on the sounds of Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Bob Dylan, and CSNY.

A simple listen to these gentle but powerful songs wins over fans almost immediately. Here's the first single from the Squid Hell Sessions,.... enjoy!


Tonight - Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA
(Mass EP Release) with Windmills

May 16th - Hogfarm in Biddeford, ME
(Maine Squid Hell EP Release)
May 21st - The Living Room - Manhattan, NY
(NYC Squid Hell EP Release)
May 22nd - Firehouse 13 - Providence, RI
(RI Squid Hell EP Release)
May 29th - The Starving Artist - Keene, NH
(NH Squid Hell EP Release)
May 30th - Langdon Street Cafe - Montpelier, VT
(VT Squid Hell EP Release)

Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers
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Comments

Jeff Boudreau said…
Re "The album was released in January of 2008 and has been played frequently on WERS Emerson Radio and WUMB Boston Folk Radio..."

WUMB ceased being a folk radio station in 2007, when it went to AAA format.
Ryan Spaulding said…
Thanks for the clarification. The reference has been removed.

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