8:00pm. - $10-$20 Suggested donation for the artists.
Local Cream rises again!
Every first Wednesday of the month, Annette Wasilik curates and hosts this showcase of the area's finest singer/songwriters at Hank Dietle's Tavern in Rockville, which has literally risen from the ashes and it looks, sounds and feels fabulous! $10-$20 Suggested donation for the artists.
Susan Rowe is a transgender Singer/Songwriter based in Takoma Park, Maryland.
Susan says “My roots are my radio and record player.” and no genre is safe when she reaches into her musical toolbox.
“My ideas and musical views are ever changing – every time I hear someone or something new – I see things differently and clearer and the sky gets bluer and bluer.
Music has always been the key for me and time again when everything else gets pulled out from under me – I’ve learned I just have to settle down in the prison of my own self and write my way out one song at a time. I always write on guitar AND piano looking for that different point of view.”
Susan jokes that she sings two kinds of songs, sad and REALLY sad but it’s a sadness laced with hope and beauty.
Make no mistake she’s a romantic, “Once upon a time, I fell apart and every song was a song to my broken heart.” But definitely not a helpless one. As in her song “Lessons In Love” she sings, “I tried so hard to not write this song that I started to dream it. You said so many times I was wrong, that I almost believe it.”
She can also be sharp and cutting as in “The Girl Who Would Be King” “The first time that I saw you I couldn’t help but makin’ fun. You beat that Ukulele with your broken little song. It was something about someone you loved or they loved you, I wasn’t sure. It didn’t really matter, your spell had taken wing. Now everybody’s talkin’ ‘bout the girl who would be king.”
Folks are talking and to see her perform is to understand why. – Connection, humor, killer songs with guitar skills to match.
Nicole Belanus Nicole Belanus is a singer/songwriter whose eclectic musical taste is apparent in her songwriting. Using her guitar and voice, she delivers a blend of soul-folk-rock and a strong vocal performance with memorable melodies for fans of Joni Mitchell and Shawn Colvin.
In the classic singer/songwriter tradition, her lyrics are raw and honest, telling stories from personal experiences, yet undisguised, creating accessible language and images meaningful to diverse audiences. She writes about her feelings, faith, relationships, and her experiences of growing up with raw emotion, maturity and sincerity. Her voice has been compared to Sheryl Crow and Dar Williams.
John Bolten John is an avid songwriter, musician, and folk music enthusiast from West Virginia. He has been called a “songwriter’s songwriter” and has played everywhere from the sidewalks of LA, to house concerts in South Carolina, to concert halls in Virginia. John has shared the stage with the likes of Drivin N Cryin, Jason Isbell, Tom House, and Eric Taylor, and once picked up Roland White in a rainstorm and took him to Walmart to buy a poncho. His songs have been recorded and performed by other regional bands and Nashville recording artists. He received 3rd Place in the 2020 Common Ground on the Hill Contest, Honorable Mention in the 2019, 2020, and 2022 Hazel Dickens National Songwriting Contests, and was 2nd place winner of the Solo Old Time Banjo Competition, and 3rd Place winner of the Solo Vocalist Competition at the 2019 Deer Creek Fiddler’s Convention. He lives in Catonsville, MD.
Annette Wasilik
"Love & Fire is a masterpiece." ~ Tom Prasada-Rao
Annette's performances are marked by her compelling alto and moving songs that "touch you to the bone". In the tradition of the poet songwriter, with rich tones reminiscent of Linda Thompson or Natalie Merchant, she weaves a spell both startling in its intimacy and expansive in its vision. Her songwriting influences include Jane Siberry, Lucinda Williams and John Prine to mention just a few. Both down to earth and deeply atmospheric, Annette’s songs are explorations into longing, love, loss, God, home, homesickness and hope.
"I found my first guitar in an old tin wardrobe in my basement. Its bridge was broken but it was love at first sight, as if I found a buried treasure in my backyard. The room spun and everything. I glued the bridge back on and never looked back." On songwriting Annette says, "It feels like diving for pearls. I sink down and don't know what's going to happen. Usually a combination of emotion, melody and phrasing opens the way for the lyrics."
In her late teens and twenties. Annette was performing in local cafes, small venues and eventually festivals. When her daughter was small, Annette took a break from performing to attend her family and grow her healing practice. Now she is out performing again and becoming known in the DC area and nationally as a powerful songwriter and performer. Annette's debut CD, Songs from the Talking House, was awarded Contemporary Folk Recording of the Year by the Washington Area Music Association in April 2016. She also won Honorable Mention for her song Don't Look Down in the 2016 MidAtlantic Song Contest.
Her January 2020 release, Love & Fire, is her first album on the Azalea City Cooperative label. On release, it landed at #6 on FAI Folk DJ chart and #1 on the NACC chart and ended up #40 for the year.
In 2019, Annette created a new concert series, Local Cream, to showcase the best local and regional songwriters.