Songwriter Sessions w/ David G. Smith, Mark Ridolfi, & Carol Montag at the Redstone Room -- March 7.
Friday, March 7, 8 p.m.
The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA
Held as part of the unique concert series held in Davenport's intimate and cozy Redstone Room, the March 7 7 Songwriter Sessions event will find guests treat to a seated evening of tunes hosted by David G. Smith, with additionally winning performances delivered by Mark Ridolfi and Carol Montag.
David G. Smith developed and hosts the Songwriter Sessions series, inviting top-tier local and touring songwriters to share their songs with the Quad Cities. Having hosted shows at Nashville’s Bluebird Café for more than 15 years, Smith has created a true listening room experience in the Quad Cities. An internationally acclaimed songwriter, four of the singer/songwriter's albums and four of his singles have reached number one nationwide on various U.S. charts, among them “River Gonna Talk” and “To Be Human” from his recent album Witness Trees. Both songs topped the charts on the Radio Guitar One Americana Chart, and Smith's last four albums were accepted for Grammy consideration.
Song collector Mark Ridolfi has curated off-beat folk covers for decades, while occasionally crafting original story songs for guitar circles, open mics, community festivals, and some barroom gigs. As a lifelong journalist, Ridolfi builds songs around specific events, emotions and observations. His 2010 song “Drawn by Love” won the Bettendorf Library Civil Rights songwriting contest, and celebrates the thousands of couples drawn by love to Iowa after the Supreme Court opened marriage to all. A new song, “Beyond the Hollow,” pines for unfulfilled longing. Ridolfi heeds Guy Clark’s maxim to be specific, but leave room for listeners. And if they start singing along, even better. He and his wife, Sandy, live in Rock Island, Illinois, where he has enjoyed a place in the St. Joseph Evening Meal monthly song circle for 20 years.
Performing singer/songwriter Carol Montag has been described by folk music legend Tom Paxton as a “genuine discovery” and “the best thing to come out of Iowa since Bonnie Koloc.” Her influences include Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Eva Cassidy, Julie Andrews, James Taylor and many others. She has recorded four solo albums and two Christmas CDs. She is due to release her new album titled Strange Ballet in early 2025. Montag has opened for or shared the stage with Arlo Guthrie, Michael Johnson, Jim Post, Greg Brown, Priscilla Herdmann, David Wilcox, John Gorka, John Stewart, Cliff Eberhardt, Larry Groce, and Three Dog Night. She was commissioned to write music for Ballet Iowa and Ballet LaCrosse and performed live with both companies. Montag was also invited by the former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, Kennet Quinn, to perform at the 2010 World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony, past performers including such notables as Ray Charles, John Denver, and Simon Estes. Montag recently won The IndieFEST Film Festival Award of Recognition for her music video Strange Ballet, and performs original songs, traditional and contemporary folk, and songs from the Great American Songbook on acoustic guitar and piano.
The Songwriter Sessions featuring David G. Smith, Mark Ridolfi, and Carol Montag takes place in the Redstone Room on March 7, admission to the 8 p.m. concert event is $18-20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)326-1333 and visiting CommonChordQC.com.
